The next three remedies benefit the mucous tissue lining the eyes, which is contiguous with the nose and throat.

Make a compress by infusing two German Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita) tea bags for 5-10 minutes. Chill the tea bags and place over the eyelids. And, of course, you could drink the tea while waiting for the bags to chill.

Make a poultice with 15 g of Ju Hua (Chrysanthemum morifolium) to 250 ml of water. Cool, squeeze out excess liquid and place poultice over the eye.

Make an infusion with either Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) or Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) and strain thoroughly. While warm, but not hot, place in an eyebath and bathe eyes well. Do not use more than twice a day. (Recommended for Conjunctivitis.)

When using homemade herbal remedies, use your fresh remedy as quickly as possible. It would not be good to cause an infection where there had been none before by using a perishable remedy made the day before yesterday. And, care must be taken not to irritate the eyes with particles of herbs left in the solutions.

KITCHEN REMEDIES

For puffy eyes brew some ordinary tea extra strong using two small tea bags. Chill the tea with the bags. Remove the bags and squeeze out excesss liquid. Apply the cold tea bags to your eye lids as a compress. If you could place the tea bags in the freezer till they get a little icy before applying them, all the better. Drink the tea if you want, the tannin is nicely astringent.

Soak cucumber slices in icy milk, lie down, close your eyes, and place the cucumber slices on your eye lids. (TIP: Place cucumber slices in a container with a little milk and put them in the freezer just until the milk is a little icy.)

Raise the head of your bed a few inches off the floor. This prevents excess body fluid from accumulating in the loose tissue around the eye. Sleep on your back with a small pillow only under your neck and start your morning with the cold teabag compress or the icy milk soaked cucumber slices on the eyes.

Fresh potato slices are terrific for circles and bags.