It is possible to put a few drops of honey mixed with sterile water into the eye for conjunctivitis. Indeed, the companions used to treat their eyes, or their wounds, with honey, and to this day in the Gulf countries honey is used to treat the eyes. However, nowadays honey tends to contain only sugar, without the sought-after antibacterial properties; this is why it is preferable to obtain eye drops made from honey or from propolis produced in a laboratory. Propolis, which is a natural antibacterial and antibiotic, and is worked with especially in Germany and the northern countries, comes in several forms.
Furthermore, one must be very careful when wishing to treat oneself with natural remedies, and turn to qualified professionals rather than venturing into making homemade remedies, at the risk of causing harm. The ancients used products of the hive to treat themselves, but their products were pure; today it is better to be careful and turn toward safe products.
What kind of conjunctivitis are we talking about?
| Viral (the most common) | Bacterial | Allergic | What is not conjunctivitis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signs | Red eye, clear tearing, gritty feeling, often with a cold; starts in one eye then the other | Thick, yellow discharge, eyelids stuck together in the morning | Strong itching, both eyes, tearing, pollen season | Pain, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, one very red eye around the iris |
| Course | Heals on its own in 7 to 14 days; very contagious | Often heals on its own, faster with an antibiotic eye drop | Lasts as long as the allergen is present | Keratitis, uveitis, glaucoma: emergency |
| What helps | Saline solution, cool compresses, hand hygiene | Saline cleansing, prescribed eye drop | Antiallergy eye drop, avoid the allergen | Ophthalmologist the same day |
Honey and the eye: what the trials have shown
The professor suggests turning to honey eye drops "made in a laboratory." They exist, and they have been tested.
- In a randomized trial of 114 patients with dry eye due to meibomian gland dysfunction, standardized manuka honey gel and drops, added to conventional treatment, improved signs and symptoms and reduced the bacterial load on the eyelids (Clin Exp Optom, 2017).
- A second randomized trial of 59 patients confirmed improvement in dryness with a 16% manuka honey eye drop compared to artificial tears (Br J Ophthalmol, 2022).
- A manuka honey cream applied to closed eyelids at night for three months improved blepharitis in a randomized paired-eye trial (Ocul Surf, 2020).
- A 2022 review summarizes the potential of honey and propolis in eye disease: antibacterial through hydrogen peroxide and flavonoids, anti-inflammatory, healing on the cornea in animal models (Pharmaceuticals, 2022).
What this tells us: honey does have a place for the eye, in sterile and dosed form, for dryness and inflammation of the eyelids. For infectious conjunctivitis itself, human data are still lacking; the studies are animal ones.
Why not honey from the pantry
The professor gives two reasons, and a third can be added. Quality: many commercial honeys are heated, filtered, or cut with syrup, and have lost the peroxide and enzymes that make them antibacterial; the tested eye drops use a manuka honey with measured activity. Sterility: raw honey contains spores and yeasts, harmless in the stomach, not on an irritated cornea. Concentration: pure honey burns the eye and causes tearing; the eye drops are at 16%, in a vehicle that protects the surface. This is why the formula the professor gives, "a few drops of honey with sterile water," remains an exceptional use, on a healthy eye that stings, with honey one is sure of, prepared and discarded the same day, and never on an infected, operated on, injured eye or one with contact lenses.
What to do at home, without risk
- Clean: sterile single-dose saline solution, from the inside to the outside of the eye, with a clean compress for each eye, several times a day. This is the basic step for any conjunctivitis.
- Compresses: cool for allergic and viral cases, warm to loosen discharge and for blepharitis.
- Honey on the eyelid: a trace of diluted raw honey on the closed eyelid and lash line, in the evening, as in the blepharitis trial; this is the safe use of honey from the hive, on the outside of the eye.
- Propolis, which the professor mentions: as drops or a spray for the throat and nose, which often accompany conjunctivitis from a cold; not in the eye outside of an ophthalmic preparation.
- Hygiene: hands washed before and after, separate towel and pillowcase, no makeup or contact lenses until healed; viral conjunctivitis is very contagious.
- Honey by mouth: a spoonful in water morning and evening, for the respiratory infection that often accompanies it, see honey mixed with water.
Contraindications and precautions
See a doctor the same day if the eye is painful, there is sensitivity to light or blurred vision, one eye alone is very red, in a newborn, in a contact lens wearer, after an injury or splash, or if the conjunctivitis lasts more than a week without improvement. Never pure honey in the eye, never a homemade preparation on an infected eye, never a shared or expired eye drop. Commercial manuka honey eye drops are to be used on medical advice, not as self-treatment in children. Honey remains forbidden by mouth before one year of age.
Frequently asked questions
Can honey be put in the eyes?
In the form of a formulated sterile eye drop (16% manuka honey), yes, with clinical trials to support it for dryness and blepharitis. Honey from the pantry, no: not sterile, often altered, too concentrated. The professor directs people toward laboratory eye drops.
Does honey treat conjunctivitis?
It is antibacterial and soothing, and the companions used it. Modern trials focus on dryness and the eyelids, not yet on infectious conjunctivitis in humans. The viral form heals on its own; the bacterial form heals faster with a prescribed eye drop.
What did the companions do for the eyes?
They applied honey to wounds and eyes, used truffle water and ithmid kohl. Their honeys were pure; that is the difference the professor emphasizes with today's products.
How can you tell if it's serious?
Conjunctivitis does not hurt, does not cause sensitivity to light, and does not blur vision. If one of these three signs is present, it is not conjunctivitis: see an ophthalmologist the same day.
What about propolis?
Antibacterial, it has a place for the throat and nose during the cold that often accompanies conjunctivitis, and in eye drops under study. Propolis tincture is not put in the eye.
