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DMSO — The Forgotten Remedy Revolutionizing Eye Healing
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/03/30/dmso-for-eye-health.aspx
Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor March 30, 2026
Story at-a-glance
- DMSO is an “umbrella remedy” capable of treating a wide range of challenging ailments due to its combination of therapeutic properties (e.g., reducing inflammation, improving circulation, and reviving dying cells)
- DMSO has a unique affinity for the eyes, resulting in it (often spontaneously) treating a wide range of visual disorders that frequently cannot be treated with conventional therapeutic options — including blindness
- DMSO’s ability to heal the skin, moisten tissue, and relax muscles makes it excellent for reducing eye strain. It helps heal a variety of challenging conditions around the eyes, such as blepharitis, styes, psoriasis, burns, bags under the eyes, and eye twitches
- DMSO’s anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties allow it to treat a variety of infections and inflammatory conditions damaging the surface of the eyes (e.g., shingles or keratitis), in many cases facilitating a complete recovery of the eye
- DMSO’s ability to heal tissue from injury also allows it to heal damaged eyes, which in many cases would otherwise require the eye to be removed. This article will review how DMSO is able to treat these conditions and how those healing properties allow it to treat many other challenging eye conditions, such as vision loss, macular degeneration, cataracts, and floaters
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a simple compound with a remarkable blend of therapeutic properties that allows it to treat a wide range of conditions including:
• Numerous neurological disorders (e.g., strokes, dementia, paralysis, neuropathies, Down syndrome, and circulatory disorders (e.g., Raynaud’s, varicose veins, hemorrhoids)) — are discussed here.
• Tissue injuries, such as sprains, concussions, burns, surgical incisions, and spinal cord injuries — are discussed here.
•Chronic pain (e.g., from a bad disc, bursitis, arthritis, or complex regional pain syndrome) — are discussed here.
• Autoimmune, protein, and contractile disorders, such as scleroderma, amyloidosis, and interstitial cystitis — are discussed here.
• Head conditions, such as tinnitus, dental problems, and sinusitis — are discussed here.
• Internal organ diseases (e.g., prostate enlargement, pancreatitis, and cirrhosis) — are discussed here.
• Respiratory disorders, including asthma, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis — are discussed here.
• Many different gastrointestinal disorders, such as bowel inflammation, cirrhosis, and pancreatitis — are discussed here.
• Skin conditions (e.g., hair loss, varicose veins, acne, ulcers, skin cancer, or psoriasis) — are discussed here.
• Infections, such as onychomycosis, herpes, and shingles, are remarkably treatable when combined with an antimicrobial agent — are discussed here.
• Many aspects of cancer (e.g., eliminating cancers, enhancing chemotherapy, and reducing the toxicity of mainstream cancer treatments) — are discussed here.
Because of how effective DMSO was for a wide range of “incurable” conditions, when it was discovered in the 1960s, it rapidly took America by storm and became the most demanded drug in the country — at which point the FDA did everything they could to suppress it (e.g., see this 1980 segment 60 minutes did on DMSO). Regretfully, this was successful, and decades later, DMSO’s remarkable properties, which could have reshaped medicine, were largely forgotten.
However, due to the new political climate we entered — widespread loss of trust in medical authorities and the mass media for their handling of COVID-19 (which allowed the alternative media to rise to prominence) — an unprecedented window was created for unorthodox therapies to gain prominence. As such, over the last year, my attempts to promote the vast body of evidence behind DMSO went viral, and there is now a similar interest in DMSO to what was seen in the 1960s.
Because of this, I have now received over 5,000 reports from readers1 who’ve benefitted from DMSO (which I compiled here), most of which match the effects typically attributed to DMSO (rapid healing from an injury and/or elimination of debilitating pain). However, I also come across some that are quite extraordinary, such as this 75 year old man who regained sight in his eye after being blind since birth after using DMSO to eliminate a chronic sinus infection.
Note: The journalist who filmed this interview previously filmed her neighbor with terminal COPD recovering with nebulized DMSO.
Murray’s story (and hundreds more I’ve received from readers) illustrates one of the least appreciated facets of DMSO — it is exceptionally well suited to treating a wide range of eye conditions — many of which are considered incurable within conventional medicine.
Note: The German DMSO community (including DMSO utilizing ophthalmologists) has reported very similar results to those shared with me by readers when using DMSO to treat the eyes.
DMSO and the Eyes
“Ophthalmologist Norbert J. Becquet, M.D. reported in May 1980 that he had great success using DMSO in treating cataracts and other eye problems. ‘I’ve treated two hundred patients in the last year for macular degeneration, macular edema, and traumatic uveitis.’”
Note: DMSO has been repeatedly shown to enhance the penetration of drugs into the eyes,2,3,4,5 potentiate certain ocular medications (e.g., anesthetic eye drops6 or 5-IDU to treat shingles)7 and authors have proposed using these combinations to enhance the efficacy of ophthalmologic medications and bypass the need to inject them into the eyes.8 Likewise, doctors like Norbert Becquet used topical DMSO nutraceutical combinations to treat otherwise “incurable” eye conditions.9
DMSO’s uses for the eyes originally emerged after participants in early clinical trials noted that their vision frequently improved when an unrelated issue was being treated (due to DMSO’s tendency to concentrate within the eyes). Likewise, readers here have frequently reported that vision significantly improves after DMSO is applied to another part of the body — particularly the neck (which is likely due to its blood supply being closer to the eyes).
Note: Due to the intense scrutiny DMSO was subjected to, its safety within the eyes was extensively studied — after which no one detected eye toxicity. For example, a JAMA publication attested to DMSO’s eye safety,10 and in a study where DMSO was applied to the eyes of 108 patients11 — including those with numerous pre-existing eye diseases — no side effects occurred besides a concentration dependent temporary irritation of the eyes.
I will now review how DMSO makes it suited to treat a wide range of disorders on the surface of the eyes.
Peripheral Eye Issues
“My mother (100 yrs old) fell three weeks ago.12 When she fell, she broke her nose and fractured a couple of orbital bones — one around each eye — which resulted in terrible black bruising due to her blood thinner medication. She spent 6 days in the hospital and my sister and I visited her everyday. After applying daily DMSO, the bruises rapidly changed color, and in three days they began to fade and then completely disappeared.”
Due to DMSO’s ability to rapidly heal injuries, relax muscles, and reduce skin inflammation, it is well-suited for treating a wide range of issues around the eyes. Studies in turn have shown:
• DMSO combined with iodine safely treated inflammatory eye conditions13,14,15,16 (e.g., in 17 patients with blepharitis and blepharoconjunctivitis all had a partial or complete response to it17).
• In children with eyelid styes, DMSO reduced swelling and pain.18
• DMSO treated inflammatory diseases of the eyelids.19
“I have a really complicated eye history [including] having blepharitis many times that left my eyelids inflamed for a very long time.20 I’ve now had inflammation on my eyelids for over a year. It’s almost gone in [after] about a week of DMSO.”
Likewise, many readers have reported DMSO treats issues around the eyes (e.g., for bags and wrinkles,21 blepharitis,22,23,24 psoriasis,25,26 styes,27,28,29 burns,30,31 milia,32 cellulitis,33 skin tags, and pedicules,34,35).
“After reading your articles I tried DMSO on a huge eye stye my husband has, a recurring issue that no doctor had been able to fix.36 In less than 24 hours it went from the size of a large pea to near gone.”
“I have used DMSO even on the lower lids of my eyes, at 25%, with astonishing success in treating a chemical/heat burn [hot tar while fighting a fire] that troubled me for about ten years, AND IT RESOLVED ABRUPTLY.”37
Finally, DMSO’s ability to relax muscles likely accounts for many of its therapeutic properties (e.g., chronically tight muscles distort focusing and many readers have reported they no longer needed to wear eye glasses after using DMSO). Likewise:
• One reader reported being able to treat superior oblique myokymia, a rare “untreatable” eye condition where that muscle will spontaneously twitch, distorting vision, fatigue the eyes, and making it impossible to drive.38
• James Miller M.D. has reported successfully curing chronic eye twitches with DMSO.39
• Using DMSO in conjunction with eye exercises has been reported to dramatically improve their efficacy.
Corneal and Conjunctival Disorders
DMSO’s therapeutic properties and its tendency to concentrate within the cornea make it well-suited to healing issues at the surface of the eyes, particularly since DMSO, being an acetylcholine esterase inhibitor, also stimulates parasympathetic activity (which increases tear secretion) and reduces duct inflammation or obstruction (also increasing tear secretion).
Because of this, many readers have reported remarkable results for eye dryness40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51 (including severe cases from Parkinson’s,52 severe mast cell activation disorder which had eroded the surface of the cornea,53 or previous chemotherapy54).These include:
“I have suffered from severe dry eye for years.55 (I’ve had to have Meibomian Gland Probing done twice for my condition, in addition to numerous other treatments). I am having a [very] positive experience using daily DMSO eye drops, I find I need much less commercial eye drops and I am very hopeful about the continued benefit of the DMSO drops.”
“It takes care of my chronic dry eyes for 6 to 8 hrs.”56
“I no longer have dry eye syndrome in that eye.”57
“I’ve been using DMSO in my eyes for more than a year now. Slowly increasing the strength.58 Even at [low doses] it’s life changing! No more dry eyes or eye infections. Better vision. For anyone who is hesitant, start slowly and ‘see’ 🤣 the amazing results.”
Likewise, many readers have also reported less blurriness,59,60,61 reduced eye strain62,63,64 (particularly from screens), and the eyes feeling refreshed.65,66 I have also seen numerous reports of DMSO healing debilitating corneal injuries like this readers:
“For decades, I experienced mysterious, intermittent left eye pain [which] contributed to regular severe sleep disruption.67 After seeing 12 doctors, they finally discovered I had corneal injury from a piece of glass getting stuck in there for a few days in 1974, but had nothing to offer me. After starting DMSO because of your article, the pain finally went away and I could sleep. Tests this week also showed the eye’s tear production recovered. Thank you AMD!”
Note: I have also received reports of DMSO rapidly treating conjunctivitis,68 a conjunctival cyst,69 and a pterygium70 (which incidentally resulted from applying DMSO to the neck).
DMSO’s unique properties (e.g., its ability to remove edema and pathologic protein deposits) can also address a few challenging corneal issues for which there are currently no viable therapeutic options. For example:
• Gelatinous drop-like corneal dystrophy is a rare genetic eye disorder where amyloids build up just beneath the corneal epithelium (progressively clouding it, and impairing vision) that is difficult to treat (requiring corneal transplantation once it progresses — which can then be followed by recurrences). Extensive research shows DMSO eliminates amyloids, and in one case report,71 DMSO was found to eliminate the amyloid which had accumulated after a corneal transplant.
• One of the early DMSO studies repeatedly found DMSO treated corneal edema.72
• Likewise, three readers shared they used it for Fuchs’ dystrophy (an incurable eye disorder where the cornea swells with fluid, causing gradual vision loss). Of them, one reported it significantly reduced corneal edema and improved their vision, one reported the same (but did not have a formal diagnosis), while a third reported they’d begun trying it, but weren’t yet sure if it was helping.73,74
• One reader reported DMSO rapidly cleared a corneal deposit in her 15-year-old Boston terrier.
Finally, in both the reports I received and those I’ve seen throughout the DMSO community, users frequently report that DMSO “cleans their eyes out” and makes vision much sharper and clearer. This likely comes from DMSO removing insoluble protein aggregates (from the cornea, lens, or vitreous) or its reviving retinal function — something DMSO is uniquely suited to do in a noninvasive manner.
Note: DMSO has a unique ability to refold and eliminate misfolded proteins (e.g., amyloids), including opaque ones that accumulate within the eyes. In turn, one of the most common things readers report is DMSO treating floaters (and in almost all cases, the treatment being successful), followed by cataracts — which likely accounts for many of the instances where DMSO appears to clean the eyes out.
Additionally, one reader noted this clearing of the eyes could be externally observed with (as the sickly look hadn’t returned), suggesting DMSO can increase the eye’s ability to absorb the critical spectrums in natural light (particularly since other studies have shown DMSO increases the skin’s ability to transmit light).
Inflammatory and Infectious Conditions
DMSO’s potent anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties make it well suited for treating a variety of conditions throughout the eye and often to do so in a safer and more potent manner than existing treatments (e.g., in one clinical trial, 30% DMSO was found to have therapeutic anti-inflammatory effects on the eye similar to 0.01% dexamethasone75).
In turn, numerous studies show DMSO eliminates challenging inflammation and infection on the surface of the eye. For example, DMSO has repeatedly been shown to be an effective treatment for chronic superficial keratitis (CSK), which over time, can reduce eye inflammation without any adverse effects to the corneal epithelium76,77 and in many cases, to be a superior CSK treatment to steroids.78,79 For example:
• In dogs with CSK, 50% DMSO combined with dexamethasone or prednisolone was found to be a much more effective treatment than either alone (e.g., it effectively reduced corneal inflammation and improved corneal transparency).80,81,82,83,84
• In dogs, DMSO has also been shown to safely treat CSK in combination with cyclosporine.85 Significant benefit has also been seen from combining DMSO with both dexamethasone and cyclophosphamide (e.g., a 77.9% to 90.7% reduction in neovascularization, a 45% to 51% reduction in corneal surface inflammation, 72.9% of corneas had a reduction in pigmentation, 74.3% had an increase of transparency, and 95.4% had a repigmentation of the nictitating membrane).86
Note: Another dog CSK study found DMSO and tacrolimus halved inflammatory infiltration and neovascularization of the cornea,87 while another found similar results with picrolimus and DMSO.88
Likewise, DMSO and penicillin treated calves infectious keratoconjunctivitis.89
• Topical DMSO and itraconazole was able to resolve chronic (fungal) keratomycosis in 80% of treated horses.90
• Likewise, a horse with fungal ulcerative keratitis fully recovered with DMSO and fluconazole.91,92
Note: DMSO has been extensively shown to treat ocular inflammation (e.g., uveitis, iritis, and episcleritis) and associated complications (e.g., synechia).
Eye Injuries and Trauma
DMSO has been repeatedly shown to protect tissue throughout the body from a variety of injuries, and does the same for the eyes:
• In rabbits, 3 days, 20% DMSO was found to significantly reduce the corneal opacification and ulcerations that followed alkali burns.93
• In multiple studies, DMSO was found to be an effective treatment for corneal acid burns from hydrofluoric acid94,95 (and also for hydrofluoric acid burns on other parts of the body).96
• In another study,97 DMSO was combined with monomycin to treat corneal burns.98
Likewise, many readers have reported that DMSO has healed a variety of eye injuries:
“I was kicked in my eye by our puppy, 50 lbs and strong, did serious damage and was legally blind seeing double, no progress healing for a month.99 So I found a DMSO recipe and my vision was restored. I’m no expert, it worked for me and quick. I had 80% healing in days, a good part of that in 24 hours. Month previous, as stated, I was not improving at all.”
“Many years ago my mother-in-law burst a blood vessel in her eye.100 After trying allopathic approaches with the MD, we made her [eye] drops containing DMSO. In mere days, the eye returned to normal.”
Likewise, a month ago, a friend injured their eye by cliff jumping from quite a height and not shielding their eye when they hit the water (resulting in the eye being filled with blood). Once my friend decided to use DMSO, we saw the eye rapidly heal and the blood within it leave … after which they repeated the same jump, again did not correctly shield their eye, and then healed the eye again with DMSO.
I have also received numerous remarkable reports of pets with injured eyes that would normally be removed instead have a complete recovery like these:
• This cat had its eye scratched, after which the vet said the necrotic eye needed to be urgently removed.101 While they raised money for the operation, they tried flushing the eye with DMSO and colloidal silver roughly every hour (which Gerald the cat loved), the eye rapidly improved, and a few days after the initial visit, the vet cancelled the operation and after six weeks the eye was healed.
• This dog had got an eye ulcer from a scratch, and the vet wanted to remove the (blind) eye.102 After a month it fully healed and sight returned.
Note: I have received additional reports of injured pet eyes recovering and reports of human eyes that top doctors said would need to be removed instead of recovering with DMSO.
Conclusion
DMSO’s ability to heal the surface of the eye also allows it to heal conditions deeper within the eyes. In turn, it has been truly extraordinary for me to see how much data there is supporting it treating nearsightedness, floaters, cataracts, glaucoma, uveitis, macular degeneration, and other causes of blindness like retinitis pigmentosa — as for many of these conditions, I was trained to believe there was nothing you could ever do to cure them.
Fortunately, due to our extraordinary political climate, more and more are awakening to the Forgotten Sides of Medicine and realizing they can take direct charge of their health rather than depend on a costly, often counterproductive medical system. It has been an incredible privilege to see just how many readers have been able to restore their eyes with DMSO, and we are deeply grateful that we at last can change the unhealthy medical paradigm we’ve been trapped within.
Author’s Note: This is an abridged version of a longer article that discusses the evidence presented here in more detail along with how DMSO can be used with natural therapies to treat a variety of other complex eye disorders (e.g., macular degeneration, floaters, cataracts, or needing to wear glasses). That article, along with additional links and references, can be read here.
A Note from Dr. Mercola About the Author
A Midwestern Doctor (AMD) is a board-certified physician from the Midwest and a longtime reader of Mercola.com. I appreciate AMD’s exceptional insight on a wide range of topics and am grateful to share it. I also respect AMD’s desire to remain anonymous since AMD is still on the front lines treating patients. To find more of AMD’s work, be sure to check out The Forgotten Side of Medicine on Substack.
How Your Sleep Patterns Shape Eye Health Over Time
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/02/07/sleep-and-eye-health.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola February 07, 2026
Story at-a-glance
- Sleep acts as a nightly repair cycle for your eyes, helping regulate eye pressure, tear balance, immune defense, and retinal cleanup that protect vision over time
- Irregular or fragmented sleep disrupts your eyes’ internal timing, allowing inflammation, dryness, and visual strain to build even if you eat well and stay active
- Circadian rhythm controls when eye tissues repair and defend themselves, and disrupted sleep timing weakens this protection long before obvious eye disease appears
- Sleep apnea places extra stress on your eyes by reducing oxygen delivery and disturbing sleep, increasing the risk of optic nerve damage, retinal changes, and surface eye problems that often go unnoticed early
- Consistent sleep timing, controlled light exposure at night, deep uninterrupted sleep, morning light, and habits that keep your airway open work together to restore your eyes’ natural resilience and long-term health
Sleep takes up nearly a third of your life, yet it’s usually framed only as a tool for energy or mood. You’ve probably blamed your tired, gritty eyes on too much screen time or dry office air. But what if the real culprit is what happens — or doesn’t happen — while you sleep? Your eyes don’t simply rest at night. They run a complex repair program that clears waste, rebalances chemistry, and resets defenses.
When that program gets interrupted, the effects show up the next morning as strain, dryness, and fatigue — and over years, as real disease risk. What most people don’t realize is that your eyes depend on sleep as a structured repair window — not passive rest, but active maintenance. When that window is disrupted, visual systems begin operating without their normal overnight recovery, allowing small stresses to accumulate instead of clearing away.
Many people eat well, stay active, and still experience eye irritation, visual fatigue, or subtle declines in clarity. Fragmented or irregular sleep helps explain that disconnect. Without consistent, restorative sleep, your eyes lose an essential opportunity to recalibrate, leaving them more sensitive to daily strain and environmental stressors.
Scientists now understand sleep as the conductor that keeps your eyes’ repair crews, pressure regulators, and immune defenders working in sync. When sleep quality or timing falters, those systems fall out of alignment, increasing vulnerability long before obvious disease appears.
At the center of this relationship is circadian rhythm — the internal timing system that dictates when repair and protection occur. When that rhythm slips, eye resilience weakens. Recognizing how sleep timing governs eye function sets the foundation for understanding why sleep patterns shape eye health so powerfully at a biological level.
Sleep Runs Your Eyes’ Repair and Defense Systems
Research published in Visual Neuroscience analyzed the relationship between sleep, circadian rhythms, and ocular health by synthesizing findings from human and animal studies published over the past decade.1
Rather than focusing on one disease, the researchers evaluated how sleep quality influences the stability of eye tissues, eye pressure, tear balance, immune activity, and retinal function. The goal was to map how normal sleep supports eye maintenance and how disrupted sleep shifts the eye toward dysfunction.
The research discussed findings from healthy adults, older adults, shift workers, and individuals with sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea. Across these groups, poor sleep quality, fragmented sleep, or circadian misalignment consistently correlated with measurable changes in eye physiology. These changes showed up as altered eye pressure patterns, unstable tear film chemistry, heightened inflammation, and impaired retinal repair.
• Sleep stabilizes pressure inside your eyes overnight — The review showed that intraocular pressure follows a predictable daily rhythm tied to sleep stages, with higher values at night that normalize during daytime activity. Think of your optic nerve as a delicate cable carrying visual signals to your brain. When eye pressure fluctuates unpredictably — spiking higher than normal or failing to drop when it should — it’s like repeatedly squeezing that cable.
Over months and years, this mechanical stress damages the nerve fibers, gradually narrowing your field of vision. When sleep is disrupted, this rhythm breaks down, leading to larger pressure swings. That means more mechanical stress on the optic nerve over time, especially if sleep loss becomes chronic.
• Another major finding involved tear production and surface comfort — During sleep, your closed eyelids create a sealed, humid chamber that nearly halts tear evaporation, giving the eye surface hours of uninterrupted recovery time.
Simultaneously, your nervous system shifts from its daytime “fight or flight” mode into “rest and repair” mode, which changes how immune cells behave. Instead of staying on alert for external threats, immune cells in your tear film switch to active cleanup and tissue maintenance.
Sleep deprivation disrupts both sides of this system. The eye surface loses its protected recovery window, and immune activity stays stuck in daytime vigilance mode rather than shifting to repair. The result is reduced tear secretion, altered tear chemistry, and conditions that mimic dry eye disease — where the eye surface stays irritated, inflamed, and poorly lubricated even during waking hours.
• Your retina relies on internal clocks to coordinate waste removal and repair — Each day, the light-sensitive cells in your retina generate molecular debris, like exhaust from a running engine. During sleep, specialized cells act like a cleanup crew, digesting and removing this waste.
Your retina depends on circadian rhythms to time this cleanup process. Without proper alignment, the debris accumulates and creates oxidative stress — damage caused by unstable molecules called free radicals — increasing the risk of retinal degeneration over time.
• Melatonin emerged as a central regulator of eye protection — The review highlighted melatonin as more than a sleep hormone. In your eye, melatonin helps lower intraocular pressure, limits oxidative damage, and protects retinal and optic nerve cells. Poor sleep or late-night light exposure suppresses melatonin release, which removes these protective effects precisely when eye tissues rely on them most.
• Circadian clocks inside eye tissues coordinate repair timing — Your cornea, lens, retina, and ciliary body — a ring of muscle behind your iris that pumps fluid into your eye and adjusts your lens for focusing, much like the autofocus mechanism in a camera — each contain internal clocks that regulate cell division, antioxidant activity, and immune responses.
Sleep synchronizes these clocks. When sleep timing shifts, repair processes become mistimed, leaving tissues more vulnerable to injury and slower to recover. This is why consistency matters as much as total hours — your eyes need the timing to be predictable, not just the duration.
• Sleep loss pushes your eyes into a low-grade inflammatory state — Your immune system doesn’t just fight infections — it also drives the low-grade inflammation behind many chronic eye conditions.
The researchers found that sleep deprivation increases neutrophil activity and inflammatory signaling in eye tissues. While brief immune activation helps defend the eye, chronic activation works against you: delaying healing, degrading tissue integrity, and leaving eyes persistently red, uncomfortable, and slow to recover from daily strain.
The eye’s delicate structures — particularly the cornea and retina — have limited ability to tolerate ongoing inflammation. Unlike skin, which heals quickly from minor irritation, eye tissues respond to chronic inflammation by forming scar tissue, losing transparency, or accumulating damage to irreplaceable nerve cells. This is why low-grade inflammation that might go unnoticed elsewhere in the body quietly degrades vision over time.
The review also compared total sleep deprivation, fragmented sleep, and circadian misalignment. Fragmented sleep — waking repeatedly through the night — hit tear film stability hardest, leaving eyes dry and irritated. Circadian misalignment — sleeping at the wrong times — had larger effects on eye pressure and retinal function. This explains why a shift worker and an insomniac might both have tired eyes, but for different biological reasons.
Sleep Apnea Leaves Fingerprints on Your Eyes
While the Visual Neuroscience review mapped how sleep governs eye maintenance broadly, a second review zeroed in on a specific threat: what happens when breathing problems fragment your sleep night after night.
In a review published in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology, researchers explained that sleep supports basic eye maintenance: your closed eyelid acts as a physical barrier, and rapid eye movement helps normal fluid transfer that is thought to support corneal nourishment during prolonged closure.2 When sleep is disrupted, that nightly “maintenance window” becomes less reliable, and the review frames sleep as a real variable in eye-disease risk — not just a lifestyle detail.
• Obstructive sleep apnea showed the most consistent links to specific eye diseases — The review emphasized obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), meaning repeated pauses in breathing or overly shallow breathing during sleep due to upper-airway resistance. Across the literature, the researchers reported consistent evidence of higher risk for:
◦ Floppy eyelid syndrome — A condition where the upper eyelids become unusually loose and rubbery, causing them to flip inside-out during sleep
◦ Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) — A sudden loss of vision caused by reduced blood flow to the optic nerve
◦ Diabetic macular edema — Fluid buildup in the central retina that blurs the sharp, detailed vision you need for reading and recognizing faces
◦ Other retinal blood-vessel changes in people with OSA
• Early eye changes showed up before clear disease diagnoses — Rather than focusing only on who had glaucoma, many studies looked at early warning signs, such as eye pressure, blind spots in side vision, and the thickness of the nerve layer that carries visual signals from the eye to the brain.
The review reported that people with sleep apnea tended to have a slightly thinner nerve layer — by about 2 to 4 microns — compared with people without sleep apnea. To put this in perspective, the retinal nerve fiber layer is typically about 90 to 100 microns thick. A 2 to 4 micron reduction might sound trivial, but research suggests that even small, early thinning can predict who will develop vision loss years later.
In a separate analysis of more than 800 healthy young adults, those with sleep apnea showed a similarly small thinning in specific areas. The practical takeaway: measurable damage accumulates for years before it crosses the threshold doctors call “disease” — which is why addressing sleep problems early protects vision you can’t get back.
• Some eye conditions showed stronger links, but treatment adds complexity — The review found consistent evidence that sleep apnea is linked to a much higher risk of NAION. At the same time, treating sleep apnea is not always simple for eye health.
CPAP therapy helps breathing during sleep, but it doesn’t address the underlying causes of sleep apnea. It also raises eye pressure and can irritate your eyes if the mask leaks air toward them. If you use CPAP, work with your sleep specialist to ensure proper mask fit, and mention any eye irritation or pressure symptoms to your eye doctor so they can monitor for changes.
You can also consider mandibular advancement devices. These are custom-fitted mouthpieces designed to move the lower jaw slightly forward while you sleep. This forward positioning helps keep the tongue and soft tissues from collapsing into the airway, reducing breathing interruptions.
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Simple Ways to Protect Your Eyes by Fixing Sleep at the Root
If your eyes feel dry, strained, or tired — or if long-term vision health is a concern — sleep deserves attention before temporary fixes like eye drops and screen filters. Sleep sets the timing for eye pressure control, tear balance, immune defense, and retinal cleanup.
1. Lock in a consistent sleep schedule to stabilize eye pressure — Your eyes benefit when sleep happens at the same time every night. Go to bed and wake up within the same 30 to 60 minutes daily, including weekends. This consistency keeps your internal clock aligned, which helps stabilize fluid flow and pressure inside your eyes. When schedules shift constantly, pressure swings grow larger and place more strain on the optic nerve.
2. Protect melatonin by controlling light after sunset — Melatonin acts as eye protection, not just a sleep signal. After dark, dim overhead lights and avoid bright screens close to bedtime. Nighttime melatonin helps lower eye pressure, reduce oxidative stress, and protect retinal and optic nerve cells. Late-night scrolling or bright indoor lighting suppresses melatonin and removes that layer of protection.
3. Prioritize deep, uninterrupted sleep over total hours — Eight hours in bed does not equal eight hours of repair if sleep is fragmented. Deep sleep is when retinal waste clears, tear chemistry resets, and inflammation settles. Keep your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet. Frequent awakenings leave eye tissues in a stressed, inflamed state the next day.
4. Use morning light to reset your eye clocks — Natural morning light anchors circadian timing. Getting outside soon after waking — even for 10 to 20 minutes — tells your brain and eyes when the day begins. That strong daytime signal sharpens nighttime melatonin release later, which strengthens overnight repair inside your eyes.
If outdoor morning light isn’t possible — during winter months or for those with mobility limitations — a 10,000-lux light therapy box positioned about 16 to 24 inches from your face for 20 to 30 minutes can provide a similar circadian signal. Regular indoor lighting is too dim to have this effect.
5. Reduce nighttime airway collapse by fixing the habits that drive sleep apnea — Lifestyle habits directly influence airway stability during sleep. Breathing through your nose rather than your mouth supports proper oxygen delivery and keeps the airway more stable. Excess weight around your neck and upper airway increases tissue pressure, so even modest fat loss improves apnea severity.
Sleep position matters as well: back sleeping allows your tongue and soft palate to fall backward, narrowing airflow, while side-sleeping, stomach-sleeping, or elevating your upper body helps keep the airway open. Avoid alcohol and smoking, which relax and inflame airway tissues and make collapse more likely.
You can also try orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT), which involves doing targeted exercises that strengthen and retrain the muscles of the mouth, tongue, face, and throat. OMT helps correct tongue posture, promotes nasal breathing, and supports healthier chewing, swallowing, and overall airway function. Those with mild to moderate sleep apnea often benefit from this, as it creates lasting structural improvements without the need for devices or surgery.
Warning signs that warrant a sleep study include loud snoring, gasping awake at night, morning headaches, and daytime sleepiness despite adequate time in bed. If you experience unexplained eye pressure changes, sudden vision loss, or chronic dry eye that doesn’t respond to treatment, ask your doctor whether a sleep evaluation makes sense.
FAQs About Sleep and Eye Health
Q: How does sleep affect eye health beyond feeling rested?
A: While you sleep, your eyes run a maintenance program: stabilizing pressure, rebalancing tear chemistry, calming inflammation, and clearing the day’s cellular debris from your retina. When sleep is irregular or fragmented, these systems fall out of sync, allowing strain and damage to build over time instead of clearing overnight.
Q: Why can eye problems show up even if I eat well and exercise?
A: Healthy daytime habits don’t replace the repair work that happens during sleep. Without consistent, restorative sleep, your eyes miss their main recovery window, which increases sensitivity to strain and raises vulnerability to irritation, visual fatigue, and eye disease.
Q: What role does circadian rhythm play in vision?
A: Circadian rhythm is the internal clock that times when eye repair and protection occur. When sleep timing shifts, repair processes become mistimed, pressure control weakens, and inflammation rises, reducing your eye’s ability to recover and protect itself.
Q: How is sleep apnea connected to eye disease?
A: Sleep apnea disrupts oxygen delivery and sleep quality, which affects eye pressure, blood flow, and inflammation. Research links it to higher risk of conditions such as optic nerve damage, retinal swelling, and surface eye disorders, often before clear symptoms appear.
Q: What sleep habits most strongly protect long-term vision?
A: Keeping a consistent sleep schedule, limiting light exposure at night, prioritizing deep uninterrupted sleep, getting morning light, and addressing habits that worsen sleep apnea all support your eyes’ natural repair rhythm and help preserve vision over time.
Eye Washing Offers Relief from Hay Fever Eye Irritation
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/01/02/eye-washing-hay-fever-relief.aspx
Story at-a-glance
- Eye washing with preservative-free sterile saline removes pollen from the eye surface, easing itching, tearing, and redness throughout the allergy season
- People who wash their eyes experience steadier symptom control, more symptom-free days, and better daily comfort compared to those who do not
- Younger allergy sufferers use eyewash more often than older adults, reflecting higher exposure to digital health guidance and quicker adoption of simple self-care habits
- Lifestyle factors such as short sleep, smoking, higher stress, and contact lens use increase the likelihood of turning to eyewash for relief
- Supporting your body with vitamin C, quercetin, whole foods, quality sleep, and stress reduction lowers histamine load and strengthens your defenses against seasonal allergies
Hay fever puts your eyes under pressure in a way that feels exhausting. The itching, burning, tearing, and redness stack up day after day, and suddenly simple things — working, reading, stepping outside — feel harder than they should. This happens because your immune system reacts to harmless pollen as if it’s a real threat, and once that reaction switches on, it doesn’t stop easily.
When the irritation follows you through the entire season, it drains your focus, your energy, and even your patience. That’s why one habit stands out in recent research: eye washing. Clearing pollen from the surface of your eyes breaks the cycle before it escalates, and this small step influences whether your season feels manageable or overwhelming.
The longer pollen exposure continues, the more reactive your system becomes, and anything that interrupts that buildup gives you a real advantage. Your goal is to keep that reaction from spiraling, and you have more control than you think. In addition to eye washing, strategies that lighten your histamine load, strengthen your natural defenses, and replace outdated medications shift the entire experience.
Eye Washing Delivers Measurable Relief Throughout Pollen Season
A study published in Scientific Reports examined whether people with hay fever who washed their eyes experienced different outcomes from those who didn’t.1 Eye washing means using a preservative-free saline rinse or eyewash solution to flush pollen and other irritants off the eye’s surface.
It’s a quick process — usually pouring the solution into a clean eye cup or using a sterile bottle and gently rinsing the eyes so debris is physically removed rather than left to trigger inflammation. Researchers followed 476 individuals struggling with seasonal eye symptoms across an entire pollen season, collecting repeated symptom reports through a smartphone symptom-tracking app.
Only 71 people in the study used eyewash, yet they consistently showed lower scores for eye itching and tearing compared to nonusers. The study noted that these individuals also described better quality-of-life outcomes, including fewer barriers to tasks like reading, social interaction, and outdoor activities.
• Eye washing delivers significant relief — People who rinsed their eyes had noticeably lower levels of itching and tearing, with scores dropping by almost a full point for itching and more than half a point for tearing compared to those who didn’t wash their eyes. The researchers pointed out that these improvements pass the threshold for what’s considered a meaningful change, so this isn’t a tiny difference on paper — it’s relief in real life.
• The benefits showed up across the whole day, not just in one symptom — Eye washers didn’t just itch less. They had lower overall eye symptom scores, fewer non-eye symptoms, and better total allergy scores altogether. That matters because hay fever rarely hits just one area. When the whole symptom burden lightens, your energy, focus, and daily rhythm all feel smoother.
• Relief lasts through the entire season — even on tough days — Instead of feeling better only when pollen counts drop, people who washed their eyes stayed more comfortable through flare-ups, high-pollen days, and the long grind of allergy season. Their symptoms followed a steady, calmer path instead of the usual spike-and-crash pattern that makes allergies so draining. Eye washers enjoyed more days with zero symptoms across nearly every category the researchers tracked.
• Rinsing away pollen keeps your immune system from overreacting — When you wash allergens off your eyes, you stop your immune system from firing up its irritation response. That’s why itching and tearing dropped: fewer allergens on your eyes equal less histamine and less inflammation. It’s simple cause and effect — and it works in your favor.
• Preservative-free eyewash is safe for dry, sensitive eyes — Even people worried about dryness didn’t experience worse symptoms when washing their eyes. The study found no meaningful differences in dry eye scores between eye washers and nonusers. That gives you a green light to use eyewash confidently, especially if you prefer methods that support your body instead of sedating it.
Younger Adults Use Eyewash More Often
A related study published in Scientific Reports examined eyewash habits among 11,284 participants using the same research network as the first study, but with a different goal.2 Instead of measuring symptom relief, this project focused on behavior — identifying which groups are most likely to wash their eyes, how they fit it into their daily routine, and which lifestyle or personal factors predict regular use.
• Younger participants used eyewash at the highest rates — Of the study participants, 9,041 people had hay fever and 40.7% of them used eyewash — a surprisingly high number that shows just how common self-directed solutions are. The highest usage was found among people under age 20, with 47.6% reporting regular eyewash use. Eyewash use tracked closely with age, and the researchers suggested that digital literacy played a role in that pattern.
Younger participants were more active on the symptom-tracking platform itself, which means they were more likely to see prompts, educational content, and self-care suggestions through the app. Older adults, who engage less with digital health platforms, used eyewash less often, which the authors viewed as a sign that awareness and adoption of newer self-care habits rise with digital familiarity.
• Clear timing patterns emerged that explain how people adapt eyewash to real-world symptoms — According to the data, 43.9% of eyewash users washed their eyes during symptom flare-ups, 24.8% used eyewash in the morning, and 19.4% used it at night. These numbers reveal that most people personalize their use around their worst symptom windows.
• Contact lens users showed especially high eyewash adoption — Individuals who stopped wearing contact lenses during pollen season used eyewash at the highest rates (50.9%), followed by current lens users (44.1%) and past lens users (39.3%). Irritation from contact lens wear during allergy season often intensifies symptoms, so this finding shows how people intuitively counteract discomfort by rinsing allergens off the eye surface.
• Lifestyle factors also shaped who turned to eyewash — Shorter sleep duration, active smoking, yogurt intake, and a higher body mass index were all linked to higher eyewash use among hay fever sufferers. These patterns paint a broader picture: individuals with more stressors, heightened discomfort, or more intense symptom profiles lean more heavily on immediate relief strategies.
• Users with stronger non-nasal symptoms turned to eyewash most often — People with higher non-nasal symptom scores — meaning symptoms involving the eyes, ears, or throat — were significantly more likely to use eyewash. This detail aligns with intuitive decision-making: people target the part of the body that feels the worst.
Individuals with mild dry eye were also more likely to use eyewash, while those with moderate to severe dry eye were more likely to avoid it. If your dry eye symptoms feel intense, you might feel hesitant about eyewash — even though earlier research shows preservative-free options don’t worsen dryness.
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Simple Steps That Soothe Irritated Eyes and Strengthen Your Allergy Defenses
You reach for relief because your eyes feel irritated, drained, and overwhelmed by pollen. That reaction is driven by histamine, a chemical your immune system releases when it thinks you’re under attack. Histamine triggers itching, redness, tearing, swelling, and that intense “allergy pressure” behind your eyes and nose.
The fastest way to feel better is to remove the pollen that activates this response and support your body’s ability to break histamine down. Following are clear steps that put you in control, especially if you’ve relied on outdated antihistamines or felt stuck in the same cycle every spring.
1. Remove allergens from your eyes with preservative-free sterile eyewash — If your eyes feel gritty, itchy, or irritated, rinsing them with a preservative-free sterile saline or eyewash solution clears away the pollen that keeps your immune system fired up. This type of rinse is designed for the delicate surface of your eye — purified or bottled water is not sterile and doesn’t match your natural tear chemistry, so it isn’t safe for eye flushing.
Using a proper sterile eyewash gives you clean, immediate relief and lowers the histamine surge that drives your symptoms.
2. Replace Benadryl with smarter antihistamine support — Benadryl’s active ingredient, diphenhydramine, is outdated and unsafe. It causes sedation, memory problems, and slower reaction times, and the research shows it affects driving performance more than alcohol.3
You deserve relief that helps your body instead of dulling your brain. Moving away from Benadryl protects your cognition and energy throughout the season.
3. Use vitamin C to lower your histamine burden — If you want a tool that strengthens your internal defenses, vitamin C gives you that advantage. A daily intake of 300 to 500 milligrams (mg) supports histamine breakdown,4 and 2,000 mg drops plasma histamine by about 40% within two weeks.5 Citrus fruit, kiwi, and red peppers are high in vitamin C and fit naturally into your day. If your diet is low in vitamin C, supplementing gives you steady support so your symptoms stay under control.
4. Lean on quercetin to stabilize your histamine response — Quercetin helps prevent mast cells — immune cells that store histamine — from dumping large amounts into your system all at once. If your symptoms spike during certain hours or after going outside, quercetin gives you a buffer so your reactions stay mild.
Onions (especially the skins), apples, and berries are rich in quercetin. It’s also found in supplement form — consider 500 to 1,000 mg two to four times daily for a stronger effect. If eating onion skins is unappealing, simmering them into broth is an easy workaround.
5. Rebuild your resilience with whole foods, sleep, movement, and stress relief — Your daily habits shape how strongly your body reacts to pollen. Processed snacks and packaged foods increase inflammation and make histamine reactions worse. Choosing whole foods — grass fed beef, root vegetables, fresh fruit, and leafy greens — gives your system what it needs to stay balanced.
Enough high-quality sleep lowers inflammation. Regular movement helps regulate your immune activity. Stress control reduces histamine release. Simple practices like proper breathing, walking outside, and protecting your nighttime routine strengthen your stability during allergy season.
FAQs About Eye Washing for Hay Fever Symptoms
Q: How does eye washing help with hay fever symptoms?
A: Eye washing clears pollen and other irritants off the surface of your eyes, which stops your immune system from triggering the itching, tearing and redness driven by histamine. This simple step lowers the irritation cycle and delivers noticeable relief throughout pollen season.
Q: What kind of eyewash is safe to use?
A: Use a preservative-free sterile saline or eyewash solution. Purified, bottled, or tap water isn’t sterile, doesn’t match the salt balance of your natural tears and isn’t safe for rinsing your eyes.
Q: Does research show that eye washing actually works?
A: Yes. A study in Scientific Reports found that people who washed their eyes had lower itching and tearing scores, steadier symptom control and more symptom-free days compared to those who didn’t.6 They also reported better daily comfort and fewer barriers to activities.
Q: Who uses eyewash the most?
A: Younger adults used eyewash at the highest rates. The related study showed that people under 20 had the strongest adoption, which the researchers linked to higher digital literacy and greater exposure to self-care guidance in digital platforms.7
Q: What else can I do to reduce hay fever eye symptoms?
A: Lighten your histamine load by using vitamin C, adding quercetin-rich foods, avoiding outdated antihistamines like Benadryl and supporting your body with whole foods, movement, good sleep and stress relief. These steps work together to keep your eyes calmer and your symptoms easier to manage.
From Sharper Night Vision to Curing Lifelong Blindness — How DMSO Heals Each Level of Vision Loss
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/11/28/dmso-reverses-vision-loss-blindness.aspx
Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor November 28, 2025
Story at-a-glance
- DMSO is a proven “umbrella remedy” that treats dozens of “incurable” conditions and protects delicate tissues (especially brain and eyes) from otherwise fatal injuries such as a complete loss of blood flow
- DMSO has a unique, almost magnetic affinity for the eyes, routinely restoring vision in disorders conventional medicine considers untreatable — including decades-long and lifelong blindness
- DMSO shields the retina from ischemic strokes, intense light damage (e.g., staring directly at the sun), and progressive degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma, and many others covered below
- Clinical studies and dozens of reader reports confirm DMSO halts or reverses macular degeneration — often returning eyesight that patients believed was gone forever. Beyond severe disease, DMSO dramatically improves everyday vision: sharper focus, better contrast and night vision, fewer floaters, and many people reduce or eliminate their need for glasses
- In extreme but meticulously documented cases — including a man blind from birth for 75 years and others blind for decades after severe trauma — DMSO has rapidly restored functional sight that modern medicine had declared impossible
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a simple compound with a remarkable blend of therapeutic properties. Over the last year, I’ve compiled thousands of studies showing how it treats a wide range of conditions including:
• Neurological disorders such as strokes, dementia, paralysis, and neuropathies (discussed here).
• Circulatory disorders such as Raynaud’s, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids (discussed here).
• Chronic pain (e.g., from disc herniations, bursitis, or complex regional pain syndrome) and tissue injuries, such as sprains, concussions, burns, surgical incisions, and spinal cord injuries (discussed here).
• Autoimmune, protein, and contractile disorders, such as arthritis, scleroderma, amyloidosis, and interstitial cystitis (discussed here).
• Head conditions, such as tinnitus, ear infections, dental problems, and sinusitis (discussed here).
• Internal organ diseases such as prostate enlargement, pancreatitis, and cirrhosis (discussed here).
• Respiratory disorders, including asthma, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis (discussed here).
• Many different gastrointestinal disorders, such as bowel inflammation, cirrhosis, and pancreatitis (discussed here).
• Skin conditions such as hair loss, acne, ulcers, skin cancer, or psoriasis (discussed here).
• Infections, such as onychomycosis, herpes, and shingles, and many antibiotic-resistant infections (discussed here).
• Many aspects of cancer, including eliminating cancers, enhancing chemotherapy, reducing the toxicity of mainstream cancer treatments, and reducing cancer pain (discussed here).
Because of how effective DMSO was for a wide range of “incurable” conditions, after being discovered in the 1960s, DMSO quickly became the most demanded drug in the country — at which point the FDA did everything they could to suppress it.
The FDA succeeded, and DMSO’s incredible utility became largely forgotten. However, due to its remarkable efficacy and the extensive evidence corroborating its medical utility, once I brought attention to DMSO (in a post-COVID world where widespread skepticism exists towards the medical establishment), it rapidly went viral, and there is now a similar interest in DMSO to what was seen in the 1960s.
Because of this, I have now received over 5,000 reports from readers who’ve benefitted from DMSO (which I compiled here),1 most of which match the effects typically attributed to DMSO (e.g., rapid healing from an injury or eliminating debilitating chronic pain). However, I also come across some that are quite extraordinary, such as this 75 year old man who regained sight in his eye after being blind since birth after using DMSO to eliminate a chronic sinus infection.
Murray’s story illustrates one of the least appreciated facets of DMSO — it is exceptionally well suited to treating a wide range of eye conditions — many of which are considered incurable within conventional medicine.
Note: The German DMSO community (including DMSO utilizing ophthalmologists) has also reported that DMSO has an extraordinary affinity for treating a wide range of eye conditions.
DMSO and the Eyes
DMSO’s uses for the eyes originally emerged after participants in early clinical trials noted that their vision frequently improved when an unrelated issue was being treated (as DMSO will concentrate within the eyes) — something many readers have also reported to me. As DMSO has a variety of different therapeutic effects, such as healing tissues, reducing inflammation, eliminating infection, removing protein deposits, or increasing blood circulation and fluid drainage, it is well suited to treating a variety of eye conditions.
As such, numerous studies and hundreds of readers have reported remarkable improvements in the following eye conditions:
• Floaters, cataracts, and other opacities within the eyes
• Myopia, astigmatism, presbyopia, and other focusing problems (allowing many people to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses)
• Dry eyes, blurry vision, and eye strain (especially from screens)
• Eye spasms and muscle twitching
• Glaucoma and elevated intraocular pressure
• Healing from eye surgeries and eliminating adhesions within the eyes
• Growths on or around the eyes (skin tags, chalazia, pterygia, etc.)
• Blepharitis, conjunctivitis, uveitis, and other inflammatory or infectious eye conditions
Note: The extremely high success rate readers have reported for treating floaters is quite noteworthy given the lack of satisfactory conventional treatments for the condition.
In turn, since many of the above conditions can impair vision (along with many more minor ones not mentioned), it is not surprising that many readers have reported visual improvements from DMSO2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31 (e.g., many reported improved night vision32,33,34,35,36). Reports include:
“I just dabbed a bit of DMSO on my eyelids and got an immediate improvement. I could see my pool shots so much better.”37
“Vision has improved, and I can read some small text again — The deterioration of vision that I felt at night after a few hours on the screen has lessened.”38
“DMSO immediately helped my eyesight by improving contrast after I just put a little above my ankle.”39
Furthermore, DMSO’s therapeutic properties enable it to reach the retina and optic nerve, thereby directly treating many challenging visual disorders that ophthalmology still struggles to address (e.g., beyond lowering eye pressure, DMSO can directly counteract the degenerative process of glaucoma).
Note: DMSO has also been repeatedly shown to enhance the penetration of drugs into the eyes, allowing lower (safer) doses to be used and to potentially eliminate the need for eye medications to be injected.40,41,42,43,44
Eye Protection
One of DMSO’s most well documented properties is its ability to protect tissues throughout the body from a variety of otherwise lethal stressors, such as heat, cold, radiation, poisons, and a loss of blood flow — which is a key reason why it produces such remarkable results for strokes and other central nervous system injuries.
In turn, many readers have reported remarkable stroke recoveries with DMSO (along with a dog who’d developed a variety of vestibular neurological issues such as uncontrolled eye movements, due to mini strokes which immediately resolved from small amounts of DMSO and magnesium).45
Note: Multiple readers have also reported DMSO rapidly resolving the visual disturbances occurring with migraines.46,47
As the eyes are also nervous tissue, similar effects from DMSO have been repeatedly observed within them:
• Injecting 1.5% DMSO into the eyes of rats subjected to 90 minutes of retinal ischemia (via optic nerve ligature) was found to reduce the number of ganglion cells that died.48
Note: One reader reported “I got IV DMSO after an optic nerve stroke and I’m pretty sure it saved my eyesight in that eye.”49 Another shared that six weeks after a retinal bleed,50 that eye had episodes of partial loss of vision (“grey outs”) which cleared a few minutes after applying DMSO gel to the eyelid of the affected eye, and a third shared DMSO treated a branched retinal vein occlusion in the eye that was no longer responding to standard therapies.51
• In mice, numerous studies have shown that DMSO treatment protects retinal cells from damage caused by toxic bright light exposure, preserving retinal function and structure (whereas in untreated mice, most retinal cells were damaged or died).52,53,54,55
Note: A reader who damaged their eyes from excessive sunlight exposure (due to pre-existing inflammation weakening the eye) was able to heal their eyes with DMSO.56 Likewise, another reader who damaged their eyes by accidentally staring at the sun for too long (presumably due to sun gazing) also healed their eyes with DMSO.57
Finally, in parallel with DMSO’s ability to heal damaged eye tissue, numerous studies have shown that normal doses of DMSO have no toxicity to the retina or optic nerve.
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Retinal Diseases
DMSO’s restorative properties make it uniquely suited to treat challenging degenerative eye diseases.
“My son has retinitis pigmentosa. He uses DMSO eyedrops. They help his [eye’s] field of vision.”58,59
For example, retinitis pigmentosa (RP),60 is a genetic disorder that causes gradually increasing visual loss, and is incurable (excluding a rare subset that an $850,000 gene therapy treats about half the time).61 As such, it immediately caught a few doctors’ attention that their RP patients had their vision improve while receiving DMSO for something else.62
This prompted a preliminary (successful) investigation that found that DMSO applied to the eyes improves RP,63 and then a larger trial of 50 patients with RP or macular degeneration.64
There, no retinal toxicity was observed, and 22 (44%) had improved visual acuity, 9 (19%) had improved visual fields, 5 (10%) had improved night vision and 48 (96%) had no further worsening of their vision (which would otherwise be expected in these retinal disorders) — results which are quite extraordinary. This, for example, was one patient in that study:
“When his DMSO treatment was started, this patient could see hand motion only with his right eye, and had a visual acuity of 20/200 (Snellen) in his left eye. Five days later, his vision was measured as 20/70 + 1 in the left eye, and he could count fingers at 5 ft with his right eye. Three months later, his visual acuity was 20/50 in the left eye.
This patient has continued his treatments daily, except for a 1-week trial interval without DMSO. He noted that his vision began to get worse during this interval, and when he restarted treatment, his vision returned to the level he had just before discontinuance. His most recent visual acuity measurement (two years after starting DMSO) is still 20/50 in the left eye, and he can count fingers at 6 ft with his right eye.”
Animal studies have also shown that DMSO prevents retinal vision loss:
• Low doses of DMSO (0.01% in drinking water) protected retinal cells in mice engineered to model RP.65
• In RP model mice, from day 4 to day 23 of life, untreated mice experienced a loss of retinal function not seen in normal mice,66 whereas DMSO treated mice had those parameters improve — scotopic a-wave amplitudes (-42% vs. +107%), photopic a-wave amplitudes (-8% vs. +65%) photopic b-wave amplitudes (-20% vs. +56%).
• In Alzheimer’s model mice, very low-dose (0.01%) DMSO in drinking water improved early contrast sensitivity deficits and restored normal outer retinal (ELM–RPE) thickness.67,68
• In Alzheimer’s model mice, 0.01% DMSO in drinking water prevented the visual loss seen early in the disease process and restored the thickness of the retinal pigment epithelium.
• In rats with diabetic retinopathy, subconjunctival injection of 10% and especially 50% DMSO significantly improved retinal function (higher B-wave and flicker ERG amplitudes) and restored retinal thickness.69
In parallel, readers have reported a variety of significant visual improvements from DMSO in a variety of eye disorders (e.g., vision loss due to RP, glaucoma, or multiple sclerosis), including many instances where “incurable” macular degeneration (AMD) improved70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82 (or stopped progressing83,84,85):
“I personally have used eye drops for 6-7 years. It has effectively stopped my macular degeneration.”86
“Personally I have used dmso eye drops for three years. My retina doc said my scarring is down 50% with my AMD.”87
“I use DMSO eye drops for my macular degeneration, and it brought my sight from 25/40 to 20/25.”88
“I [have AMD] and have been using 40% DMSO for three weeks. Before, I was having ink-blot-like hallucinations that severely affected my central vision, to the point where I couldn’t drive at night even with my glasses on. Just three weeks later, I can now drive at night in the rain without wearing glasses at all, and the impairment in my central vision is completely gone.”89
“I tested my AMD with an Amsler’s chart earlier this year and my left eye showed distorted lines. After a month of DMSO, I had no more distortions.”90
“My husband has macular degeneration and he is using DMSO. It’s been about four months and his vision has not gotten worse, I think it’s improving. He’s driving better.”91
“I now use the drops for my macular degeneration. Have great results.”92
Note: Most of the reports I’ve seen on macular degeneration were improvements of the more common (dry) form. Some evidence also suggests it can help wet macular degeneration by inhibiting VEGF and the formation of new blood vessels, which underlie many eye diseases.93,94,95,96
Additionally, DMSO has also been reported to heal a variety of other challenging retinal conditions. For example, readers have reported improvement of a macular hole,97 a severe macular pucker that had required urgent surgery,98 and a torn retina that had previously healed badly.99
Reversing Blindness
DMSO’s ability to treat conditions like macular degeneration also allows it sometimes to produce even more remarkable results. For example, when I initially received Murray’s seemingly impossible report that DMSO restored sight in an eye which has been blind for 75 years, I was inclined to believe it as I’d read very similar accounts within the early DMSO literature, such as:100
• A man who had been blind for more than 30 years after having dynamite explode in his face, who started seeing flashes of light after applying DMSO to the head.
• A man who lost sight in the right eye (along with other functions of the eye like focusing) and gradually lost sight in the other after an almost fatal impact by an automobile while skating down the road.
After trying DMSO for hair loss, he noticed a sensation in the back of his right eye, so Dr. Stanley Jacob (the pioneer of DMSO) decided to apply DMSO to that eye, eventually settling on a high concentration (which stung for several minutes, caused tears, and left the eyes bloodshot for about 20 minutes). After this, sight rapidly returned to the right eye (as demonstrated in a blindfold test), along with him regaining the ability to see color (something his good eye had lost since the accident).
Note: One reader has also reported being able to cure their colorblindness with DMSO.101
• A man who had been blind for many years in one eye (only able to distinguish light and dark) regained his sight in that eye with DMSO (e.g., he demonstrated this by walking unaided in public areas and describing objects and events while his good eye was covered).
• A man who was almost blind (leading to him being entirely dependent on others, like his wife, to take him anywhere, cut his meat, or keep his house clean), after a year on DMSO, regained his sight and no longer needed assistance to do anything (which was of great relief to his family).
Note: These results led Jacob to test DMSO on a series of patients with incurable blindness, many of whom then had their vision improve.
Conclusion
I’ve spent decades seeking out methods to treat macular degeneration, and seen a few approaches (e.g., intensive nutritional regimens, eye circulation improving regimens or energetic inputs that reawaken dormant retinal cells) “do the impossible” and bring lost sight back to the eyes.
It’s hence quite noteworthy that DMSO is both able to create many of these same therapeutic effects (e.g., by increasing microcirculation to the eyes, it greatly increases the vital nutrition retinal cells receive), and like those therapies, restore vision, but do so in a much more broad and economical way (rather than only targeting one component of vision loss).
“I’ve had countless patients who were already doing all the ‘right’ things with nutrition and weren’t getting better with their pain/autoimmune problems, and then they did well after adding DMSO.” — James Miller MD
More importantly, the fact that DMSO can quickly and easily treat “incurable” conditions like vision loss provide a critical lesson into the myriad of other chronic illnesses we are facing, as the eyes are not the only part of the body affected by the ever increasing circulatory impairments (many of which result from vaccination) and nutritional depletion of the food supply seen throughout society.
The significant health challenges our society faces require doing something different. Fortunately, as things like DMSO’s saga show, the solutions we are searching for already exist.
More importantly, we have reached a unique historical crossroad, as the dire need to fix America’s disastrous healthcare has thrust us into a never-before-seen political climate where large parts of the culture, media, and government support rather than oppose the adoption of these real and affordable pathways to health. It is up to each of us to make the best of this moment and rediscover the forgotten umbrella therapies.
Author’s Note: This is an abridged version of a longer article that discusses the evidence presented here in more detail along with how DMSO can be used in conjunction with natural therapies to treat the conditions discussed in this article (e.g., macular degeneration) along with a variety of other eye disorders (e.g., floaters, cataracts, glaucoma, nearsightedness, dry eyes, and chronic eye strain). That article, along with additional links and references, can be read here.
A Note from Dr. Mercola About the Author
A Midwestern Doctor (AMD) is a board-certified physician from the Midwest and a longtime reader of Mercola.com. I appreciate AMD’s exceptional insight on a wide range of topics and am grateful to share it. I also respect AMD’s desire to remain anonymous since AMD is still on the front lines treating patients. To find more of AMD’s work, be sure to check out The Forgotten Side of Medicine on Substack.
DMSO — The Remarkable Compound That Heals the Eye from the Inside Out
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/11/21/dmso-treats-eye-conditions.aspx
Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor November 21, 2025
Story at-a-glance
- DMSO is an “umbrella remedy” capable of treating a wide range of challenging ailments. It has a unique affinity for the eyes, resulting in DMSO frequently treating a wide range of visual disorders that frequently cannot be treated with conventional therapeutic options — including blindness
- DMSO’s potent anti-inflammatory properties allow it to treat a variety of challenging inflammatory eye conditions throughout the eye, including uveitis, iridocyclitis, and iritis, along with releasing the troublesome adhesions (synechia) associated with them
- DMSO’s ability to restore fluid circulation and protect compromised nerves allows it to rapidly reduce intraocular pressure and protect the optic nerves of glaucoma patients
- DMSO’s unique ability to stabilize proteins and solubilize misfolded ones allows it to eliminate a variety of pathologic protein deposits in the eyes, such as floaters and cataracts. Likewise, users often report that their eyes become much sharper and clearer as less obvious deposits are eliminated
- DMSO’s ability to normalize the shape of the eyes also frequently results in users reporting their eyes regain the ability to focus and glasses no longer being needed (particularly for nearsightedness). This article will review how DMSO can treat these conditions and how those healing properties allow it to treat many other challenging eye conditions, such as eye strain, dry eyes, vision loss, and macular degeneration
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a simple compound with a remarkable blend of therapeutic properties. Over the last year, I’ve compiled thousands of studies showing how it treats a wide range of conditions including:
• Neurological disorders such as strokes, dementia, paralysis, and neuropathies (discussed here).
• Circulatory disorders such as Raynaud’s, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids (discussed here).
• Chronic pain (e.g., from disc herniations, bursitis, or complex regional pain syndrome) and tissue injuries, such as sprains, concussions, burns, surgical incisions, and spinal cord injuries (discussed here).
• Autoimmune, protein, and contractile disorders, such as arthritis, scleroderma, amyloidosis, and interstitial cystitis (discussed here).
• Head conditions, such as tinnitus, ear infections, dental problems, and sinusitis (discussed here).
• Internal organ diseases such as prostate enlargement, pancreatitis, and cirrhosis (discussed here).
• Respiratory disorders, including asthma, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis (discussed here).
• Many different gastrointestinal disorders, such as bowel inflammation, cirrhosis, and pancreatitis (discussed here).
• Skin conditions such as hair loss, acne, ulcers, skin cancer, or psoriasis (discussed here).
• Infections, such as onychomycosis, herpes, and shingles, and many antibiotic-resistant infections (discussed here).
• Many aspects of cancer, including eliminating cancers, enhancing chemotherapy, reducing the toxicity of mainstream cancer treatments, and reducing cancer pain (discussed here).
Because of how effective DMSO was for a wide range of “incurable” conditions, after being discovered in the 1960s, DMSO quickly became the most demanded drug in the country — at which point the FDA did everything they could to suppress it.
The FDA succeeded, and DMSO’s incredible utility became largely forgotten. However, due to its remarkable efficacy and the extensive evidence corroborating its medical utility, once I brought attention to DMSO (in a post-COVID world where widespread skepticism exists towards the medical establishment), it rapidly went viral, and there is now a similar interest in DMSO to what was seen in the 1960s.
Because of this, I have now received over 5,000 reports from readers who’ve benefitted from DMSO1 (which I compiled here), most of which match the effects typically attributed to DMSO (e.g., rapid healing from an injury or eliminating debilitating chronic pain). However, I also come across some that are quite extraordinary, such as this 75 year old man who regained sight in his eye after being blind since birth after using DMSO to eliminate a chronic sinus infection.
Murray’s story (and hundreds more I’ve received from readers) illustrates one of the least appreciated facets of DMSO — it is exceptionally well suited to treating a wide range of eye conditions — many of which are considered incurable within conventional medicine.
Note: The German DMSO community (including DMSO utilizing ophthalmologists) has also reported that DMSO has an extraordinary affinity for treating a wide range of eye conditions.
DMSO and the Eyes
Ophthalmologist Norbert J. Becquet, M.D. reported in May 1980 that he had great success using DMSO in treating cataracts and other eye problems. “I’ve treated two hundred patients in the last year for macular degeneration, macular edema, and traumatic uveitis.”2
Note: DMSO has been repeatedly shown to enhance the penetration of drugs into the eyes,3,4,5,6 potentiate certain ocular medications (e.g., anesthetic eye drops7 or 5-IDU to treat shingles8) and authors have proposed using these combinations to enhance the efficacy of ophthalmologic medications and bypass the need to inject them into the eyes.9 Likewise, doctors like Norbert Becquet used topical DMSO nutraceutical combinations to treat otherwise “incurable” eye conditions.
DMSO’s uses for the eyes originally emerged after participants in early clinical trials noted that their vision frequently improved when an unrelated issue was being treated (due to DMSO’s tendency to concentrate within the eyes). Likewise, readers have repeatedly reported to me that vision significantly improves after DMSO is applied to another part of the body (e.g., the ankle).
Note: Due to the intense scrutiny DMSO was subjected to, its safety within the eyes was extensively studied — after which no one detected eye toxicity other than temporary irritation from higher doses applied directly to the eyes.
I will now review how DMSO’s therapeutic properties and its ability to travel through tissues make it suited to treat a wide range of disorders within the eyes.
Eye Inflammation
DMSO’s robust anti-inflammatory properties make it well suited for treating inflammation within the eyes. For example:
• In an extensive study, numerous forms of eye inflammation responded to DMSO including four severe cases of episcleritis that had previously failed to respond to the use of corticosteroids.10
• A study induced uveitis in dogs and found that subsequently giving DMSO decreased intraocular pressure and fibrin production.11
• DMSO (with its delivery augmented by ultrasound) was found to treat endogenic iridocyclitis (inflammation around the iris).12,13
Note: DMSO has been repeatedly shown to treat a wide range of inflammatory and infectious conditions on the surface of the eyes.
Readers likewise have reported excellent results for uveitis, retinitis, and iritis:14,15,16,17,18
“I used to struggle with uveitis and for years had synechia (adhesions) in my eyes related to my (now past rheumatoid arthritis).19 I used DMSO for a couple of months after your initial articles and haven’t had any bouts of uveitis since, despite engaging in the reading style that often triggers synechia induced spasms (and then iritis).
Since all my symptoms have resolved I stopped using steroid drops and haven’t had anyone look again for synechia that I finally don’t feel anymore … doesn’t seem like much of a point. I read for a living so I really enjoy using my eyeballs better.” — James Miller MD
Note: In chronically inflamed eyes, DMSO was found to decrease fibrin production.20
“I had been dealing with recurring iritis in my right eye for about a year and a half.21 My ophthalmologist had prescribed prednisolone (steroid) drops which cleared up the symptom of cloudiness in my vision in that eye but it would always recur in a week or two. [After 2 months of DMSO applied to the eyes] my iritis is permanently gone now.
DMSO works better than dexamethasone for uveitis. It saved my sight and normalised my eye pressure.”22
Note: In many cases, DMSO can also treat the underlying systemic autoimmune disorder that triggers eye inflammation.
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Glaucoma and Intraocular Pressure
“I am 2 months into using 99.9% pharmaceutical grade DMSO for loss of vision due to glaucoma based on your article. I felt like I had nothing to lose since my vision in one eye was reduced to blurs. I haven’t been able to read letters in over two years with that eye. This week, I can now begin to see specific letters and numbers on my computer and the television screen.
I am still amazed that this is real. Sure, it burns like hell for about 15 seconds [as he used a high dose]. But that pales to the orbital bone pain from one of the 4 glaucoma eyedrops I used multiple times daily … not to mention the 2 surgeries.”23
Glaucoma is peripheral vision loss resulting from optic nerve degeneration (the cause of which is unknown) that occurs in association with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). As such, glaucoma is managed by lowering eye pressure (often with increasingly invasive methods) and hoping that this is enough to keep the vision loss at bay for the remainder of the patient’s life (which doesn’t always work). DMSO hence, is well-suited to addressing glaucoma as it:
•Protects and restores the function of compromised nerves, thereby allowing it to counteract the glaucoma disease process directly.
•Excels at reducing edema (including within the cornea24 or pressure within the brain — which also contributes to IOP), transporting fluids, and removing obstructions to fluid drainage (including adhesions within the eye) — all of which allow DMSO to normalize eye pressure.25
For example, in rabbits, a DMSO-brinzolamide gel designed to treat glaucoma (as brinzolamide lowers IOP) effectively reduced intraocular pressure and showed no toxicity.26 Likewise, in another rabbit study, DMSO alone was shown to effectively lower IOP:27
Readers have also reported that DMSO improved or resolved their glaucoma,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38 including in a cat.39 I’ve found numerous online reports of DMSO rapidly reducing glaucoma pressure pain, or allowing patients to no longer need eye medications to control their IOP.
Floaters and Cataracts
Many complex diseases result from misfolded proteins clumping together and depositing in the body. Fortunately, DMSO’s unique ability to both stabilize normal protein folding and to dissolve pathologic protein deposits makes it able to treat a variety of challenging conditions (e.g., dozens of studies show DMSO treats amyloidosis).
In the case of the eyes, once proteins lose their normal shape, they often turn opaque and scatter light, impairing vision (e.g., this is what causes cataracts and floaters). As these proteins are within the eyes, it is often challenging to remove them (e.g., for cataracts, with surgery, the lens can typically be removed and replaced with an artificial cataract-free one, whereas floaters lack any widely accepted, low-risk treatment).
Since DMSO’s properties seem naturally indicated to treat cataracts, this has been extensively explored, with numerous doctors reporting at conferences40,41 that they had a high rate of success treating cataracts with various DMSO combinations, and many online likewise reporting significant cataract improvement from various DMSO combinations (including DMSO authors working with the German ophthalmology community).
Conversely, I have seen virtually no mentions of floaters in the DMSO literature (with the few that did using the formal terminology, “vitreous opacities”).
Within the reports I’ve received, floaters have had a remarkable response to DMSO (far better than any other therapy I know of), with 27 readers sharing that DMSO improved or eliminated their floaters and only one stating it didn’t help. Additionally, in many cases, this improvement was an incidental occurrence (e.g., after DMSO was applied to the leg).42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68
“I started DMSO maybe 4 months ago topically for muscle spasms and it’s amazing! I have not required a muscle spasm pill since I started.69 I used to take 1 to 2 a day. It happens to have other huge advantages I was unaware of. My eyes no longer burn. I used to use eyedrops everyday. I no longer need them. I had several moderate eye floaters. My ophthalmologist told me it was age. Nothing could be done. Well … The floaters are GONE!”
After I shared this remarkable success rate with a colleague, he decided to test it and recently shared with me that:
“Ok so 1.5 weeks of ocular DMSO each day. My floaters are almost completely transparent and don’t block my vision anymore.70 Visual blurring when fatigued is much less and if I do get it I can close my eyes for 5 mins and the sharpness is back. You’ve convinced me to try this on my patients.”
Likewise, to quote a DMSO using colleague:
“In one of the ladies in my trial for cataracts, while it’s too soon to say for that, her floaters that were present have completely vanished. So far, we are definitely seeing the greatest response to floaters.”
Note: I also received one report of DMSO being used for a vitreous detachment (after which there were less floaters and flashes, and the field of vision became much clearer).71
Likewise, numerous readers have reported success treating cataracts with DMSO,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83 including in dogs,84,85 with reports including:
“[4 months of DMSO] saved my husband from cataract surgery.”86
“I have a diabetic dog that went blind from cataracts and have been giving him DMSO eye drops and it has cleared most of his eyes up and he can see again!”87
“My January eye checkup showed cataracts, early stage glaucoma and peripheral vision loss. Monday’s (July) follow up all in normal ranges! She said keep doing what I’m doing.”88
“I have been using DMSO eye drops for cataracts for several months and have seen a noticeable improvement in my vision.”89
However, unlike floaters, I’ve noticed that about half of the readers report DMSO not improving their cataracts — which is likely due to how it’s applied, what DMSO is combined with, and the type of cataract present.
Note: Many DMSO users also report their eyes being much clearer and sharper — something I suspect results from DMSO removing opacities throughout the eyes which obstruct vision.
Focusing
“I used DMSO cream on my jawline at night and noticed my eyesight was noticeably better the next day. I kept using it daily and completely eliminated my eyeglasses — I’d worn them for 25 years. I no longer need glasses for reading OR driving.”90
Many readers shared that after taking DMSO, their vision initially seemed worse — only to discover their eyes’ focusing ability had sharply improved, making their old prescription too strong, leading to them switching to weaker lenses or ditching glasses entirely. For example:
“I’ve always been near-sighted and was starting to need bifocals. One day I couldn’t see clearly through my reading glasses and thought my eyes were getting worse. Took them off — could suddenly read the smallest print perfectly. I’m 60 and have never needed reading glasses since.”91
“My husband’s eyesight was deteriorating fast — he’s 43 and already in bifocals. I was putting DMSO on his ingrown toenail 3x/day. In two weeks his eyes healed so much he only needs glasses for very close work now.”92
“After reading the EENT article and successfully using DMSO to treat my patients, I noticed ghosting in my right eye. Put 2 DMSO drops in the affected eye before bed. Woke up — completely corrected. Still my go-to if anything feels off.”93
“Near-sighted since teens (L -2.25, R -1.5), stable since early 20s. Used DMSO on my face on/off for 6 to 8 months. Contacts started irritating, went in expecting stronger Rx. New Rx: L -1.5, R -1.25. Optometrist was surprised!”94
“Just had my annual eye exam. For the first time since I was a kid, my astigmatism is gone. Distance is 20/20 one eye, better than 20/20 the other. Happened really fast after starting DMSO — I was shocked.”95
“My friend no longer needs her glasses to read texts on her phone after putting DMSO on her eyelids each night.”96
Note: Many more readers have also reported improvements in focus.97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111
Additionally in most cases, I noticed the focusing issue that improved was nearsightedness and then discovered the German DMSO community had made the same observation.
Since nearsightedness results from the eye becoming longer and narrower, this suggests DMSO (a muscle relaxant) relaxes the muscle responsible for that motion (the ciliary muscle located at the front of the eye), and that our tendency to stare at screens all the time locks the muscle into a chronic state of tension.
Separately, DMSO’s ability to reduce fluid congestion within the eye (which lengthens and narrows the eye) may also play a role in DMSO’s ability to restore normal focusing, as does DMSO’s ability to loosen the fibrosis at the back of the eye, which locks in this near-sighted state (which, like its muscle relaxing properties, may explain why DMSO works so well with eye exercises).
Conclusion
DMSO’s ability to heal every single part of the eye (particularly the retina and optic nerve) is extraordinary. It has made me realize many eye conditions we are trained in medical school to view as largely incurable in reality have simple, gentle, and widely available options which can allow us to adapt to the incredible strain the modern electronic-focused world places upon the eyes.
I never expected to see blind eyes open again, floaters vanish in weeks, or 60-year-olds ditch bifocals they’d worn since childhood. Yet that’s exactly what readers keep reporting to me — hundreds of times now. It is astounding that simple knowledge like this, backed by decades of clinical use and thousands of suppressed studies, could be lost for two generations. But what’s even more incredible is that we are now in the one narrow window where it can suddenly sprout from the ashes.
The decades of dedicated research by the DMSO pioneers aren’t gathering dust anymore. They’re saving sight, one reader at a time. And nothing the authorities did in the 1960s can stop what’s happening right now.
Author’s Note: This is an abridged version of a longer article that discusses the evidence presented here in more detail along with how DMSO can be used with natural therapies to treat the conditions discussed in this article (e.g., floaters, cataracts, and nearsightedness) along with a variety of other eye disorders (e.g., macular degeneration, dry eyes, and chronic eye strain). That article, along with additional links and references, can be read here.
A Note from Dr. Mercola About the Author
A Midwestern Doctor (AMD) is a board-certified physician from the Midwest and a longtime reader of Mercola.com. I appreciate AMD’s exceptional insight on a wide range of topics and am grateful to share it. I also respect AMD’s desire to remain anonymous since AMD is still on the front lines treating patients. To find more of AMD’s work, be sure to check out The Forgotten Side of Medicine on Substack.
DMSO — The Forgotten Remedy Revolutionizing Eye Healing
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/11/14/dmso-for-eye-health.aspx
Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor November 14, 2025
Story at-a-glance
- DMSO is an “umbrella remedy” capable of treating a wide range of challenging ailments due to its combination of therapeutic properties (e.g., reducing inflammation, improving circulation, and reviving dying cells)
- DMSO has a unique affinity for the eyes, resulting in it (often spontaneously) treating a wide range of visual disorders that frequently cannot be treated with conventional therapeutic options — including blindness
- DMSO’s ability to heal the skin, moisten tissue, and relax muscles makes it excellent for reducing eye strain. It helps heal a variety of challenging conditions around the eyes, such as blepharitis, styes, psoriasis, burns, bags under the eyes, and eye twitches
- DMSO’s anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties allow it to treat a variety of infections and inflammatory conditions damaging the surface of the eyes (e.g., shingles or keratitis), in many cases facilitating a complete recovery of the eye
- DMSO’s ability to heal tissue from injury also allows it to heal damaged eyes, which in many cases would otherwise require the eye to be removed. This article will review how DMSO is able to treat these conditions and how those healing properties allow it to treat many other challenging eye conditions, such as vision loss, macular degeneration, cataracts, and floaters
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a simple compound with a remarkable blend of therapeutic properties that allows it to treat a wide range of conditions including:
• Numerous neurological disorders (e.g., strokes, dementia, paralysis, neuropathies, Down syndrome, and circulatory disorders (e.g., Raynaud’s, varicose veins, hemorrhoids)) — are discussed here.
• Tissue injuries, such as sprains, concussions, burns, surgical incisions, and spinal cord injuries — are discussed here.
• Chronic pain (e.g., from a bad disc, bursitis, arthritis, or complex regional pain syndrome) — are discussed here.
• Autoimmune, protein, and contractile disorders, such as scleroderma, amyloidosis, and interstitial cystitis — are discussed here.
• Head conditions, such as tinnitus, dental problems, and sinusitis — are discussed here.
• Internal organ diseases (e.g., prostate enlargement, pancreatitis, and cirrhosis) — are discussed here.
• Respiratory disorders, including asthma, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis — are discussed here.
• Many different gastrointestinal disorders, such as bowel inflammation, cirrhosis, and pancreatitis — are discussed here.
• Skin conditions (e.g., hair loss, varicose veins, acne, ulcers, skin cancer, or psoriasis) — are discussed here.
• Infections, such as onychomycosis, herpes, and shingles, are remarkably treatable when combined with an antimicrobial agent — are discussed here.
• Many aspects of cancer (e.g., eliminating cancers, enhancing chemotherapy, and reducing the toxicity of mainstream cancer treatments) — are discussed here.
Because of how effective DMSO was for a wide range of “incurable” conditions, when it was discovered in the 1960s, it rapidly took America by storm and became the most demanded drug in the country — at which point the FDA did everything they could to suppress it (e.g., see this 1980 segment 60 minutes did on DMSO). Regretfully, this was successful, and decades later, DMSO’s remarkable properties, which could have reshaped medicine, were largely forgotten.
However, due to the new political climate we entered — widespread loss of trust in medical authorities and the mass media for their handling of COVID-19 (which allowed the alternative media to rise to prominence) — an unprecedented window was created for unorthodox therapies to gain prominence. As such, over the last year, my attempts to promote the vast body of evidence behind DMSO went viral, and there is now a similar interest in DMSO to what was seen in the 1960s.
Because of this, I have now received over 5,000 reports from readers1 who’ve benefitted from DMSO (which I compiled here), most of which match the effects typically attributed to DMSO (rapid healing from an injury and/or elimination of debilitating pain). However, I also come across some that are quite extraordinary, such as this 75 year old man who regained sight in his eye after being blind since birth after using DMSO to eliminate a chronic sinus infection.
Note: The journalist who filmed this interview previously filmed her neighbor with terminal COPD recovering with nebulized DMSO.
Murray’s story (and hundreds more I’ve received from readers) illustrates one of the least appreciated facets of DMSO — it is exceptionally well suited to treating a wide range of eye conditions — many of which are considered incurable within conventional medicine.
Note: The German DMSO community (including DMSO utilizing ophthalmologists) has reported very similar results to those shared with me by readers when using DMSO to treat the eyes.
DMSO and the Eyes
“Ophthalmologist Norbert J. Becquet, M.D. reported in May 1980 that he had great success using DMSO in treating cataracts and other eye problems. ‘I’ve treated two hundred patients in the last year for macular degeneration, macular edema, and traumatic uveitis.’”
Note: DMSO has been repeatedly shown to enhance the penetration of drugs into the eyes,2,3,4,5 potentiate certain ocular medications (e.g., anesthetic eye drops6 or 5-IDU to treat shingles)7 and authors have proposed using these combinations to enhance the efficacy of ophthalmologic medications and bypass the need to inject them into the eyes.8 Likewise, doctors like Norbert Becquet used topical DMSO nutraceutical combinations to treat otherwise “incurable” eye conditions.9
DMSO’s uses for the eyes originally emerged after participants in early clinical trials noted that their vision frequently improved when an unrelated issue was being treated (due to DMSO’s tendency to concentrate within the eyes). Likewise, readers here have frequently reported that vision significantly improves after DMSO is applied to another part of the body — particularly the neck (which is likely due to its blood supply being closer to the eyes).
Note: Due to the intense scrutiny DMSO was subjected to, its safety within the eyes was extensively studied — after which no one detected eye toxicity. For example, a JAMA publication attested to DMSO’s eye safety,10 and in a study where DMSO was applied to the eyes of 108 patients11 — including those with numerous pre-existing eye diseases — no side effects occurred besides a concentration dependent temporary irritation of the eyes.
I will now review how DMSO makes it suited to treat a wide range of disorders on the surface of the eyes.
Peripheral Eye Issues
“My mother (100 yrs old) fell three weeks ago.12 When she fell, she broke her nose and fractured a couple of orbital bones — one around each eye — which resulted in terrible black bruising due to her blood thinner medication. She spent 6 days in the hospital and my sister and I visited her everyday. After applying daily DMSO, the bruises rapidly changed color, and in three days they began to fade and then completely disappeared.”
Due to DMSO’s ability to rapidly heal injuries, relax muscles, and reduce skin inflammation, it is well-suited for treating a wide range of issues around the eyes. Studies in turn have shown:
• DMSO combined with iodine safely treated inflammatory eye conditions13,14,15,16 (e.g., in 17 patients with blepharitis and blepharoconjunctivitis all had a partial or complete response to it17).
• In children with eyelid styes, DMSO reduced swelling and pain.18
• DMSO treated inflammatory diseases of the eyelids.19
“I have a really complicated eye history [including] having blepharitis many times that left my eyelids inflamed for a very long time.20 I’ve now had inflammation on my eyelids for over a year. It’s almost gone in [after] about a week of DMSO.”
Likewise, many readers have reported DMSO treats issues around the eyes (e.g., for bags and wrinkles,21 blepharitis22,23,24 psoriasis25,26 styes,27,28,29 burns,30,31 milia,32 cellulitis,33 skin tags and pedicules,34,35).
“After reading your articles I tried DMSO on a huge eye stye my husband has, a recurring issue that no doctor had been able to fix.36 In less than 24 hours it went from the size of a large pea to near gone.”
“I have used DMSO even on the lower lids of my eyes, at 25%, with astonishing success in treating a chemical/heat burn [hot tar while fighting a fire] that troubled me for about ten years, AND IT RESOLVED ABRUPTLY.”37
Finally, DMSO’s ability to relax muscles likely accounts for many of its therapeutic properties (e.g., chronically tight muscles distort focusing and many readers have reported they no longer needed to wear eye glasses after using DMSO). Likewise:
• One reader reported being able to treat superior oblique myokymia, a rare “untreatable” eye condition where that muscle will spontaneously twitch, distorting vision, fatigue the eyes, and making it impossible to drive.38
• James Miller M.D. has reported successfully curing chronic eye twitches with DMSO.39
• Using DMSO in conjunction with eye exercises has been reported to dramatically improve their efficacy.
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Corneal and Conjunctival Disorders
DMSO’s therapeutic properties and its tendency to concentrate within the cornea make it well-suited to healing issues at the surface of the eyes, particularly since DMSO, being an acetylcholine esterase inhibitor, also stimulates parasympathetic activity (which increases tear secretion) and reduces duct inflammation or obstruction (also increasing tear secretion).
Because of this, many readers have reported remarkable results for eye dryness40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51 (including severe cases from Parkinson’s,52 severe mast cell activation disorder which had eroded the surface of the cornea,53 or previous chemotherapy54).These include:
“I have suffered from severe dry eye for years.55 (I’ve had to have Meibomian Gland Probing done twice for my condition, in addition to numerous other treatments). I am having a [very] positive experience using daily DMSO eye drops, I find I need much less commercial eye drops and I am very hopeful about the continued benefit of the DMSO drops.”
“It takes care of my chronic dry eyes for 6 to 8 hrs.”56
“I no longer have dry eye syndrome in that eye.”57
“I’ve been using DMSO in my eyes for more than a year now. Slowly increasing the strength.58 Even at [low doses] it’s life changing! No more dry eyes or eye infections. Better vision. For anyone who is hesitant, start slowly and ‘see’ 🤣 the amazing results.”
Likewise, many readers have also reported less blurriness,59,60,61 reduced eye strain62,63,64 (particularly from screens), and the eyes feeling refreshed.65,66 I have also seen numerous reports of DMSO healing debilitating corneal injuries like this readers:
“For decades, I experienced mysterious, intermittent left eye pain [which] contributed to regular severe sleep disruption.67 After seeing 12 doctors, they finally discovered I had corneal injury from a piece of glass getting stuck in there for a few days in 1974, but had nothing to offer me. After starting DMSO because of your article, the pain finally went away and I could sleep. Tests this week also showed the eye’s tear production recovered. Thank you AMD!”
Note: I have also received reports of DMSO rapidly treating conjunctivitis,68 a conjunctival cyst,69 and a pterygium70 (which incidentally resulted from applying DMSO to the neck).
DMSO’s unique properties (e.g., its ability to remove edema and pathologic protein deposits) can also address a few challenging corneal issues for which there are currently no viable therapeutic options. For example:
• Gelatinous drop-like corneal dystrophy is a rare genetic eye disorder where amyloids build up just beneath the corneal epithelium (progressively clouding it, and impairing vision) that is difficult to treat (requiring corneal transplantation once it progresses — which can then be followed by recurrences). Extensive research shows DMSO eliminates amyloids, and in one case report,71 DMSO was found to eliminate the amyloid which had accumulated after a corneal transplant.
• One of the early DMSO studies repeatedly found DMSO treated corneal edema.72
• Likewise, three readers shared they used it for Fuch’s dystrophy (an incurable eye disorder where the cornea swells with fluid, causing gradual vision loss). Of them, one reported it significantly reduced corneal edema and improved their vision, one reported the same (but did not have a formal diagnosis), while a third reported they’d begun trying it, but weren’t yet sure if it was helping.73,74
• One reader reported DMSO rapidly cleared a corneal deposit in her 15-year-old Boston terrier.
Finally, in both the reports I received and those I’ve seen throughout the DMSO community, users frequently report that DMSO “cleans their eyes out” and makes vision much sharper and clearer. This likely comes from DMSO removing insoluble protein aggregates (from the cornea, lens, or vitreous) or its reviving retinal function — something DMSO is uniquely suited to do in a noninvasive manner.
Note: DMSO has a unique ability to refold and eliminate misfolded proteins (e.g., amyloids), including opaque ones that accumulate within the eyes. In turn, one of the most common things readers report is DMSO treating floaters (and in almost all cases, the treatment being successful), followed by cataracts — which likely accounts for many of the instances where DMSO appears to clean the eyes out.
Additionally, one reader noted this clearing of the eyes could be externally observed with (as the sickly look hadn’t returned), suggesting DMSO can increase the eye’s ability to absorb the critical spectrums in natural light (particularly since other studies have shown DMSO increases the skin’s ability to transmit light).
Inflammatory and Infectious Conditions
DMSO’s potent anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties make it well suited for treating a variety of conditions throughout the eye and often to do so in a safer and more potent manner than existing treatments (e.g., in one clinical trial, 30% DMSO was found to have therapeutic anti-inflammatory effects on the eye similar to 0.01% dexamethasone75).
In turn, numerous studies show DMSO eliminates challenging inflammation and infection on the surface of the eye. For example, DMSO has repeatedly been shown to be an effective treatment for chronic superficial keratitis (CSK), which over time, can reduce eye inflammation without any adverse effects to the corneal epithelium76,77 and in many cases, to be a superior CSK treatment to steroids.78,79 For example:
• In dogs with CSK, 50% DMSO combined with dexamethasone or prednisolone was found to be a much more effective treatment than either alone (e.g., it effectively reduced corneal inflammation and improved corneal transparency).80,81,82,83,84
• In dogs, DMSO has also been shown to safely treat CSK in combination with cyclosporine.85 Significant benefit has also been seen from combining DMSO with both dexamethasone and cyclophosphamide (e.g., a 77.9% to 90.7% reduction in neovascularization, a 45% to 51% reduction in corneal surface inflammation, 72.9% of corneas had a reduction in pigmentation, 74.3% had an increase of transparency, and 95.4% had a repigmentation of the nictitating membrane).86
Note: Another dog CSK study found DMSO and tacrolimus halved inflammatory infiltration and neovascularization of the cornea,87 while another found similar results with picrolimus and DMSO.88
Likewise, DMSO and penicillin treated calves infectious keratoconjunctivitis.89
• Topical DMSO and itraconazole was able to resolve chronic (fungal) keratomycosis in 80% of treated horses.90
• Likewise, a horse with fungal ulcerative keratitis fully recovered with DMSO and fluconazole.91,92
Note: DMSO has been extensively shown to treat ocular inflammation (e.g., uveitis, iritis, and episcleritis) and associated complications (e.g., synechia).
Eye Injuries and Trauma
DMSO has been repeatedly shown to protect tissue throughout the body from a variety of injuries, and does the same for the eyes:
• In rabbits, 3 days, 20% DMSO was found to significantly reduce the corneal opacification and ulcerations that followed alkali burns.93
• In multiple studies, DMSO was found to be an effective treatment for corneal acid burns from hydrofluoric acid94,95 (and also for hydrofluoric acid burns on other parts of the body).96
• In another study,97 DMSO was combined with monomycin to treat corneal burns.98
Likewise, many readers have reported that DMSO has healed a variety of eye injuries:
“I was kicked in my eye by our puppy, 50 lbs and strong, did serious damage and was legally blind seeing double, no progress healing for a month.99 So I found a DMSO recipe and my vision was restored. I’m no expert, it worked for me and quick. I had 80% healing in days, a good part of that in 24 hours. Month previous, as stated, I was not improving at all.”
“Many years ago my mother-in-law burst a blood vessel in her eye.100 After trying allopathic approaches with the MD, we made her [eye] drops containing DMSO. In mere days, the eye returned to normal.”
Likewise, a month ago, a friend injured their eye by cliff jumping from quite a height and not shielding their eye when they hit the water (resulting in the eye being filled with blood). Once my friend decided to use DMSO, we saw the eye rapidly heal and the blood within it leave … after which they repeated the same jump, again did not correctly shield their eye, and then healed the eye again with DMSO.
I have also received numerous remarkable reports of pets with injured eyes that would normally be removed instead have a complete recovery like these:
• This cat had its eye scratched, after which the vet said the necrotic eye needed to be urgently removed.101 While they raised money for the operation, they tried flushing the eye with DMSO and colloidal silver roughly every hour (which Gerald the cat loved), the eye rapidly improved, and a few days after the initial visit, the vet cancelled the operation and after six weeks the eye was healed.
• This dog had got an eye ulcer from a scratch, and the vet wanted to remove the (blind) eye.102 After a month it fully healed and sight returned.
Note: I have received additional reports of injured pet eyes recovering and reports of human eyes that top doctors said would need to be removed instead of recovering with DMSO.
Conclusion
DMSO’s ability to heal the surface of the eye also allows it to heal conditions deeper within the eyes. In turn, it has been truly extraordinary for me to see how much data there is supporting it treating nearsightedness, floaters, cataracts, glaucoma, uveitis, macular degeneration, and other causes of blindness like retinitis pigmentosa — as for many of these conditions, I was trained to believe there was nothing you could ever do to cure them.
Fortunately, due to our extraordinary political climate, more and more are awakening to the Forgotten Sides of Medicine and realizing they can take direct charge of their health rather than depend on a costly, often counterproductive medical system. It has been an incredible privilege to see just how many readers have been able to restore their eyes with DMSO, and we are deeply grateful that we at last can change the unhealthy medical paradigm we’ve been trapped within.
Author’s Note: This is an abridged version of a longer article that discusses the evidence presented here in more detail along with how DMSO can be used with natural therapies to treat a variety of other complex eye disorders (e.g., macular degeneration, floaters, cataracts, or needing to wear glasses). That article, along with additional links and references, can be read here.
A Note from Dr. Mercola About the Author
A Midwestern Doctor (AMD) is a board-certified physician from the Midwest and a longtime reader of Mercola.com. I appreciate AMD’s exceptional insight on a wide range of topics and am grateful to share it. I also respect AMD’s desire to remain anonymous since AMD is still on the front lines treating patients. To find more of AMD’s work, be sure to check out The Forgotten Side of Medicine on Substack.
How to Deal with Dry Eyes — Treatment Options and Ways to Prevent Symptoms
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/10/15/dry-eyes-treatment.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola October 15, 2025
Story at-a-glance
- More than half of U.S. adults experience dry eye symptoms, but only a small fraction have received a formal diagnosis or treatment
- Common symptoms include burning, stinging, gritty sensations, blurred vision, and eye fatigue, often worse at night or with prolonged screen use
- Environmental and lifestyle factors — including digital device use, indoor HVAC, contact lenses, and certain medications — are major drivers of dry eye disease
- Remedies range from simple lifestyle changes and home routines (blink breaks, warm compresses, humidifiers) to over-the-counter drops, prescription medications, and device therapies
- Ignoring persistent symptoms increases the risk of corneal damage, chronic inflammation, and permanent vision changes, making professional evaluation necessary
Dry eye, meaning the eye does not produce enough tears or the tears evaporate too quickly, is characterized by irritation (like there’s something in your eye), redness, blurry vision, and sometimes a stinging or burning pain. For some, it worsens at night or after long periods staring at digital screens.
Left unaddressed, dry eye not only affects quality of life but also raises the risk of corneal damage and chronic inflammation, which can permanently impair vision. Researchers and clinicians now view it as a widespread public health problem, not just a nuisance.
Dry Eye Is So Common — but Why Is It So Undertreated?
A recent research presented during the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) found that over half of the population in the U.S. and Europe experience dry eyes — yet only a small fraction sought professional help and were formally diagnosed with this condition.1
• The data was based on two separate surveys conducted on thousands of participants — In the U.S., the findings were based on a survey involving 2,003 adults conducted in April 2024.
Meanwhile, the European data came from an ongoing study including over 5,000 adults from the U.K., Germany, France, Poland, and Saudi Arabia, dubbed the “Needs Unmet in Dry Eye: Symptoms, Treatment and Severity’ (NESTS)” study, it included data from 2,580 adults in the general population and 2,572 dry eye sufferers taken in June 2025.
• The researchers found that more than half of Americans and Europeans report dry eye symptoms — Based on the U.S. survey, it affects 50% of American respondents, while the NESTS study found that 58% of Europeans deal with this condition. Yet only 17% (U.S.) to 20% (European) of patients have ever received a professional diagnosis or treatment. According to Dr. Piotr Wozniak, a refractive surgeon and dry eye specialist based in Warsaw, Poland:2
“Results from our studies reveal a substantial group of patients suffering without help. The European questionnaire explored why people don’t seek treatment. Many see dry eye as a normal part of aging and something to endure.
As a medical doctor, I find this particularly concerning because a simple eye drop could offer significant relief — but many people aren’t even asking for help.”
• The surveys show that many individuals delay seeking care for months or even years — According to the NESTS study, 60% of Europeans with dry eyes waited at least four months before going to their healthcare provider, while 20% waited over a year before consulting a professional about their symptoms. As reported by Science Daily:
“Many sufferers stopped driving at night (17%), no longer wore makeup (14.8%), or reduced their use of heat or air conditioning (15.2%) due to their uncontrolled dry eye symptoms. One in three sufferers (34%) reported that their symptoms had worsened in the past year and only 9% said there had been an improvement.”
• The U.S. respondents were not so different — Despite 80% saying they experienced dry eye symptoms like fatigue and itchy or watery eyes, the survey found that 67% waited six months or more to consult with an eye specialist, while 31% waited two or more years.
• One reason for undertreatment is that dry eye presents with subtle and variable symptoms — You might feel burning or stinging one day and blurry vision the next, making it easy to dismiss the problem as temporary fatigue or allergies. Many people self-treat with over-the-counter drops, but these products are not always matched to the underlying cause — This leads to a cycle of trial and error without meaningful relief, which discourages further action.
• Another factor is the complexity of dry eye itself — The condition stems from two primary mechanisms. The first is evaporative dry eye, most commonly due to meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). When the tiny oil glands along your eyelids become blocked or inflamed, the protective lipid layer of the tear film breaks down, and tears evaporate too quickly.
The second is aqueous-deficient dry eye, where the lacrimal glands fail to produce enough watery tears to keep the eyes moist. In many cases, both processes occur together, creating a mixed presentation that requires more than one type of remedy.3
• Environmental and lifestyle trends amplify the problem — Prolonged screen use reduces blink rate, indoor HVAC systems lower humidity, and widespread contact lens wear increases tear instability. Hormonal changes, especially in postmenopausal women, further raise the risk. Medications such as antihistamines, antidepressants, and blood pressure drugs also dry the eyes, yet patients rarely connect these side effects with their eye symptoms.4
What Brings Fast Relief for Dry Eyes?
When your eyes feel gritty, sore, or tired, the right daily habits often make the biggest difference. These dry eyes treatment options are simple to apply and can break the cycle of dryness if you stay consistent. Each addresses a specific cause of dry eye, whether it’s reduced blinking, poor air quality, or clogged eyelid glands.
• Have blink breaks and follow the 20-20-20 rule — Digital devices are one of the strongest triggers for dry eye. The National Eye Institute (NEI) explains that prolonged screen use lowers blink rate, leaving the tear film unstable and prone to evaporation. To counter this, follow the 20-20-20 rule — Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds, and add three to five full, slow blinks. This resets the tear layer and reduces eye strain.
• Positioning matters, too — Keeping screens slightly below eye level also helps reduce tear evaporation, while maintaining at least an arm’s length distance prevents fatigue. Adjusting device settings — like increasing text size or using darker backgrounds — reduces the need to squint and stare, both of which worsen dryness.
• Adjust room humidity and airflow — Indoor environments often make dryness worse, especially if you’re using heating or air conditioning. Low humidity causes tears to evaporate quickly, leaving the eye surface unprotected. Aim to keep indoor humidity between 40% and 50%.
• Avoid direct airflow blowing into your eyes from car vents, desk fans, or office HVAC systems — If you can’t control airflow in shared spaces, reposition yourself or adjust the vent angle. In winter or in heavily air-conditioned environments, consider using a cool-mist humidifier for dry eyes — it restores balance and provides noticeable relief.
• Eyelid hygiene — Your eyelids house the meibomian glands, which secrete oils that keep tears from evaporating too quickly. When these glands are blocked, evaporative dry eye becomes more severe. A once-daily routine will support gland function — massage your lids with clean fingers after a warm shower, then follow with gentle lid wipes or a diluted cleanser designed for eyelid use.
People with greasy, flaky, or inflamed lids benefit most from this routine. Avoid heavy makeup along the lash line, which clogs the glands and worsens irritation. Consistency matters — results typically show after several weeks, not overnight.
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Will Using a Warm Compress for Dry Eyes Actually Help?
Warm compresses are considered a first-line remedy for evaporative dry eye caused by MGD. Heat softens the oils in the glands, making them easier to express. This restores a healthy lipid layer to the tear film and slows evaporation.5 Follow this simple routine:
The 5-Step Warm Compress Routine
1. Heat — Soak a clean washcloth in warm water. Always test the temperature on your wrist to prevent burns.
2. Apply — Close your eyes and rest the compress gently on your lids for five to 10 minutes.
3. Massage — With clean fingers, roll from the top lid downward and the bottom lid upward toward the lash line to help clear blocked glands.
4. Cleanse — Use a cotton pad or wipe to remove any oil or debris along the lid margins.
5. Lubricate — Apply artificial tears right after the compress, when the oils are flowing and the eye surface is primed to retain moisture. (National Eye Institute)
Artificial Tears vs. Lubricating Drops — How Do You Choose the Right One?
Many people use the terms artificial tears and lubricating drops interchangeably, but there are subtle differences worth noting. Artificial tears are typically designed to mimic natural tears by restoring moisture and stabilizing the tear film, making them the most common first-line product for dry eyes. Lubricating drops, by contrast, are usually formulated to last longer on the eye and may contain thicker or gel-like agents that coat the surface more effectively.
Artificial tears are not all the same, and matching the drop to your symptoms and usage pattern is key to relief. Some products are thin and watery, others are thicker and longer-lasting, and some are designed specifically for people with sensitive eyes or contact lenses. Using the wrong formulation can lead to wasted money and persistent irritation. Here’s a guide to help you find the best eye drops for dry eyes:6,7,8
Choosing the Right Artificial Tears
| Situation | What to try | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Occasional dryness (daytime use) | Low-viscosity preserved drops | Preservatives keep multidose bottles safe from contamination, which is fine when used only a few times per day. Overuse may irritate the eyes. |
| Frequent use or sensitive eyes | Preservative-free eye drops (single-use vials) | Reduce the risk of preservative-induced irritation or toxicity when drops are used often. |
| Nighttime dryness | Lubricating ointments or gels | Thicker formulas coat the eye overnight, preventing dryness while you sleep, though they blur vision temporarily. |
| Contact lens wear | Rewetting drops labeled for contact lenses | Formulated to hydrate safely without damaging lenses or trapping preservatives against the eye. |
| Evaporative dry eye / MGD pattern | Lipid-containing artificial tears, often paired with warm compresses | Replenish the lipid layer of the tear film and slow evaporation, especially helpful when meibomian gland dysfunction is present. |
Can Nutrition and Supplements Help Dry Eye?
Your diet plays a direct role in the quality and stability of your tear film. Tears are made of three distinct layers — oil, water, and mucus — and imbalances in any of these can cause discomfort. By improving the quality of these layers through specific nutrients, you’ll be able to reduce the frequency and intensity of dry eye symptoms. Here are some considerations to remember:
• Boost your omega-3s for dry eyes and other eye-related conditions — In one study involving more than 32,000 female participants between 45 and 84 years old, those with the lowest ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 (4-to-1 ratio or less) had a significantly lower risk of developing dry eye syndrome. Those with the highest ratio of omega-6 to omega-3) had a significantly higher risk.9,10
Wild-caught fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and anchovies provide bioavailable omega-3 fats that directly improve tear quality. Krill oil is another option. Krill oil has a unique combination — it not just offers omega-3 fats but is high in astaxanthin as well.
• Astaxanthin is also beneficial for eye health — Astaxanthin, a carotenoid produced by a form of microalgae, offers natural protection against ultraviolet light. It also acts as a powerful antioxidant that protects your eyes against macular degeneration, blindness, and cataracts.11 Astaxanthin also boosts your immune system, decreases biomarkers linked to DNA oxidative damage, and protects against inflammation.12
Remember, however, that food-first is always the better strategy; supplements are best reserved for cases where diet alone cannot meet your needs.
• You can get vitamin A from healthy foods — This nutrient supports the ocular surface and the health of mucous membranes. Deficiency increases the risk of dry eye, making it important to include foods rich in vitamin A such as grass fed animal liver, pastured eggs, raw dairy, carrots, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens.
• N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) is a valuable nutrient as well — A derivative of the amino acid L-cysteine, NAC has antioxidant properties and is widely used to reduce the viscosity (consistency) of secretions in bronchopulmonary disorders.13 Ophthalmologists use it to treat corneal abrasions and ulcers, and dry eye.
Nutrition is not a quick fix, but it strengthens the foundation of your ocular health. By consistently supporting your tear film from within, you make every other remedy for dry eye — whether drops, compresses, or medical treatments — far more effective.
When to See an Eye Doctor for Dry Eyes
Most cases of dry eye respond to simple home strategies, but there are clear red flags that signal the need for professional care. The National Eye Institute (NEI) emphasizes that ignoring these warning signs not only prolongs discomfort but may also risk permanent damage to the ocular surface. Seek professional help if you experience any of the following:14,15
- Symptoms persist despite incorporating lifestyle changes
- When using eye drops do not bring any relief
- Pain, such as a burning, scratchy, or stinging sensation, or watery eyes
- When dry eyes are causing problems performing normal activities
- Noticeable vision changes, such as fluctuating vision
Delaying evaluation can worsen the condition. Chronic, untreated dry eye may scar the cornea, increase infection risk, or cause vision changes. An optometrist or ophthalmologist can perform tests — such as measuring tear breakup time, assessing meibomian gland function, or using staining techniques — to identify the root cause and guide treatment.
If any item on the checklist applies, schedule an exam promptly. Addressing the issue early means faster relief, better outcomes, and a lower chance of complications.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Dry Eyes Remedies
Q: Do warm compresses actually help dry eyes?
A: Yes. Warm compresses are a first-line treatment for evaporative dry eye caused by meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Heat softens the oils in the glands, making it easier to release them and restore a healthy lipid layer in the tear film. This slows evaporation and stabilizes the eye surface. For best results, follow a 5-step routine: heat, apply, massage, cleanse, and lubricate with drops right after. Daily use for 2 to 3 weeks often leads to noticeable improvement.
Q: What’s the difference between artificial tears and lubricating drops?
A: Artificial tears are designed to mimic natural tears, replenishing moisture and stabilizing the tear film. They are usually thinner and better for quick daytime relief. Lubricating drops, on the other hand, tend to be thicker and longer-lasting, sometimes even in gel form. These are especially useful at night or for people with severe dryness. Choosing between them depends on when your symptoms occur and how long you need relief.
Q: Are preservative-free drops worth it?
A: Yes, especially if you use drops more than 4 to 6 times a day or if your eyes are sensitive. Preservatives in bottled drops prevent contamination but can irritate the cornea with frequent exposure. Preservative-free single-use vials reduce that risk and are safer for people who rely on drops daily.
Q: What are the best home remedies for dry eyes?
A: Simple daily habits bring the most relief:
• Follow the 20-20-20 rule with regular blink breaks to restore tear film stability.
• Keep indoor humidity around 40% to 50% and avoid air blowing directly on your eyes.
• Practice gentle eyelid hygiene to support meibomian gland function.
• Apply warm compresses to unclog blocked glands.
• Use artificial tears that match your needs (thin, gel, preservative-free, or lipid-enhanced).
These remedies work best when practiced consistently over time.
Q: Can omega-3s and other nutrients help?
A: Yes, nutrition plays a major role in eye health. Omega-3 fats from wild-caught salmon, sardines, and anchovies support tear quality. Studies suggest that lower omega-6 to omega-3 ratios are linked to a lower risk of dry eye syndrome. Vitamin A from liver, pastured eggs, raw dairy, carrots, and leafy greens protects the ocular surface and mucous membranes.
Other supportive nutrients include astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant that guards against UV damage, and N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), which ophthalmologists sometimes use for corneal healing and dry eye. Food-first is the best approach, with supplements reserved for special cases.
Q: When should I see a doctor for dry eyes?
A: See an optometrist or ophthalmologist if:
• Your symptoms last more than a few weeks despite home remedies.
• Eye drops no longer bring relief.
• You feel pain, a burning or stinging sensation, or have watery eyes that interfere with daily activities.
• You notice vision changes like fluctuating blur.
Ignoring these warning signs risks permanent damage. Chronic dry eye can scar the cornea, increase infection risk, and impair vision. Professional evaluation ensures you get tailored treatment and avoid complications.
- 1, 2 Science Daily, September 15, 2025
- 3 Cleveland Clinic, Dry Eyes
- 4 National Eye Institute, Causes of Dry Eye
- 5 Optometry Times, August 12, 2015
- 6 Mayo Clinic, January 31, 2025
- 7 Cleveland Clinic, February 21, 2023
- 8 American Academy of Ophthalmology
- 9 All About Vision, February 27, 2019
- 10 Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Oct;82(4):887–893
- 11 Journal of Molecular Pathophysiology, 2018 Vol 7, No. 1, Page 1–6
- 12 Nutrition & Metabolism, 2010, Volume 7, Article number: 18
- 13 Sandra Lora Cremers MD, FACS, N-Acetyl-cysteine (NAC) For Dry Eyes
- 14 JL Eye Specialists, 5 Signs That You Should See A Doctor For Your Dry Eyes
- 15 Gundersen Health System, 5 signs you should see a doctor for dry eye
Eye Exams Detect Alzheimer’s Disease Years Before Symptoms Appear
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/10/01/eye-exams-detect-alzheimers-early.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola October 01, 2025
Story at-a-glance
- More than 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s today, and researchers project that number will rise to 13 million by 2050, doubling the burden on families
- Researchers at the Jackson Laboratory (JAX) discovered twisted, narrowed retinal vessels in mice carrying a common gene mutation, showing changes that resemble early Alzheimer’s signs years before memory decline begins
- They also found disrupted protein activity in both brain and retina, weakening energy production and vessel support, creating the conditions for Alzheimer’s long before symptoms appear
- Visual sensitivity testing in over 8,000 adults predicted dementia risk up to 12 years ahead, showing how everyday vision struggles may signal hidden brain changes
- Regular eye exams, better sleep, balanced carbohydrates, healthy fats, sunlight exposure, and methylene blue support offer practical steps to strengthen vessel health and protect your brain
More than 7 million Americans are now living with Alzheimer’s disease, a condition characterized by progressive memory loss, confusion, and changes in behavior that worsen over time. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, and according to researchers, this number will reach 13 million by 2050, creating an enormous medical and social burden.1
However, emerging research provides a revolutionary shift in the early detection of Alzheimer’s — according to the studies, a simple eye exam might be able to provide the first visible evidence of this disease, long before traditional symptoms appear. This opens the door to a safer and more accessible screening method, as well as gives hope in better management of the condition.
The Blood Vessels in Your Retina May Reveal Alzheimer’s Risk
A recent animal study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia journal explored if changes in the eye’s blood vessels could act as early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, allowing routine eye exams to reveal this disease years before symptoms set in.2
Conducted by researchers at the Jackson Laboratory (JAX), the research focused on the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of your eye, to determine if abnormal blood vessel patterns in the eye could serve as a clear biomarker for brain changes linked to dementia.3
“Most people over 50 have some kind of vision impairment and get checked annually for prescription changes,” Alaina Reagan, a neuroscientist and one of the study authors, explained. “Are they more at risk if they have these vascular changes, and is that a point when doctors could start mitigating brain changes? That could be 20 years before cognitive damage becomes noticeable to patients and their families.”
• The research was conducted on mice bred with a specific genetic mutation — Called MTHFR677C>T, this common mutation causes the mice to develop “twisted vessels, narrowed arteries, and reduced branching in the retina,” as early as 6 months of age. These conditions closely resemble the vascular abnormalities seen in human Alzheimer’s patients, and are strongly associated with impaired blood flow and cognitive decline.4 Up to 40% of people have this similar mutation.
• Researchers observed striking details in these retinal changes — Unlike the smooth, organized vascular networks typically found in healthy eyes, the altered vessels appeared tangled and distorted. Because the retina and brain share nearly identical tissue, changes in one mirror changes in the other.
“If you’re at an optometrist or ophthalmologist appointment, and they can see odd vascular changes in your retina, that could potentially represent something that is also happening in your brain, which could be very informative for early diagnostics,” Reagan said.
“Your retina is essentially your brain, but it’s much more accessible because your pupil is just a hole, and we can see tons of stuff. All the cells are very similar, all the neurons are quite similar, all the immune cells are quite similar, and they behave similarly under pressure if you’ve got a disease.”
• The problems in the eye went beyond twisted blood vessels — According to the researchers, there was disrupted protein activity in both the brain and retina, too. Proteins are the body’s workers — they manage energy production, clear out waste, and help maintain strong vessel structures.
So when their activity is disrupted, those systems break down, meaning your brain and eyes lose their ability to properly fuel cells, clear out harmful byproducts, and keep vessels strong — setting the stage for Alzheimer’s disease.
• The study also highlighted important differences between male and female mice — Females fared much worse than their male counterparts. By the age of 12 months — roughly middle age for mice — they had fewer blood vessel branches and lower vessel density in their retinas.
This detail is striking because it parallels what doctors already see in humans — women across the globe experience higher rates of dementia compared to men.5 Age was another factor that changed the picture, as the retinal disruptions grew more severe as the mice got older.
• The research team is now working to apply these animal findings to humans — They are partnering with Northern Light Acadia Hospital in Maine to test whether similar retinal changes show up in patients carrying the same gene mutation.6 If they succeed, it means an optometrist could one day spot Alzheimer’s risk with a simple retinal exam decades before symptoms surface.
This research transforms routine eye care into a powerful tool to protect your brain health. Having an early warning system built into something you’re already doing opens up a pathway to earlier treatment — and better outcomes become far more realistic.
Genetics Shape How Your Eyes Age and Reveal Brain Health Risks
The researchers of the featured study have also conducted previous research on how genetic differences affect the way eyes age and how those changes connect to brain health. Their findings, published in Molecular Neurodegeneration earlier this year, investigated whether the retina could show signs of aging that mirror what happens in the brain. Their goal was to determine if specific genetic backgrounds create distinct retinal changes that could predict neurological decline.7,8
• The study involved nine genetically diverse strains of mice — All mice showed some form of retinal aging, but the type and severity of changes differed dramatically between groups.
• The researchers found how varied retinal aging can be — In one strain called Watkins Star Line B (WSB), the mice developed signs of age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, both are serious eye diseases that damage vision over time. In another strain known as New Zealand Obese (NZO), which is prone to metabolic dysfunction, the animals developed diabetic retinopathy, a condition where high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the eye.
• These differences were not random — They were predictable. Molecular changes in the eye accurately forecast which type of degeneration would occur. According to Gareth Howell, a professor at JAX and the study’s lead author:
“There’s more to the eyes than just simply seeing you. By understanding how the healthy eye ages in different genetic contexts, we may be able to determine people’s risk of developing diseases like Alzheimer’s.”9
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Visual Sensitivity Loss Can Signal Alzheimer’s Risk Years Ahead
These studies from the JAX team are not the first to look at the connection between eye health and dementia risk. In 2024, researchers from Loughborough University in the U.K. released a study on how vision testing could reveal Alzheimer’s risk — as early as 12 years before diagnosis.
The study, which was published in the Scientific Reports journal, focused on whether reduced visual sensitivity — the ability to detect fine details, contrast, or subtle changes in the environment — could act as a long-term predictor of dementia. Instead of relying only on brain scans or memory tests, the researchers suggested that eye-based assessments could be paired with standard psychological tests to strengthen early detection.10
• The study population included more than 8,000 adults who have participated in the EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Cohort Study — The participants’ eyesight was tested years before they developed symptoms of Alzheimer’s, via computerized visual sensitivity training, which involves assessing a person’s visual processing speed and reaction time. Ahmet Begde, Ph.D., a doctoral researcher at Loughborough University and one of the study researchers, said:
“Visual sensitivity refers to an individual’s ability to detect and process visual information accurately and efficiently. We decided to investigate visual sensitivity as a predictor of dementia because previous research has shown that individuals with dementia often experience visual processing deficits, even in the early stages of the condition.”11
• The details of the findings showed a strong predictive link — Participants with lower visual sensitivity were far more likely to develop Alzheimer’s within the following decade compared to those with normal visual processing.
“A loss of visual sensitivity can lead to various difficulties in perceiving and processing visual information, such as difficulty recognizing objects or faces, struggles with reading or navigating in familiar environments, and challenges in perceiving visual details or contrasts,” Begde explained. “For example, a person with reduced visual sensitivity may have difficulty reading street signs while driving.”12
But this isn’t just about needing glasses or having blurry vision — it was about how the brain interprets what your eyes see. It means struggles with reading, judging distances, driving safely, or distinguishing between colors could be more than just frustrating — they might signal changes in your brain long before memory problems begin.
• Specific improvements came from combining vision tests with traditional neuropsychological exams — Alone, each type of test gives useful information, but when paired, they created a much clearer picture of future dementia risk.
• So what’s the biological explanation for these findings? This is because when Alzheimer’s develops, beta-amyloid plaques — sticky protein clusters linked to cell damage — disrupt both the brain and the pathways that process vision. This disruption reduces the efficiency of visual signaling, which shows up as difficulty detecting fine details or contrasts.
Another mechanism involves how the brain clears waste proteins. Inefficient clearance allows buildup that clogs communication between cells, especially in areas tied to vision.
• These results are unsurprising — In a Medical News Today article, Dr. Alexander Solomon, a surgical neuro-ophthalmologist and strabismus surgeon from California, comments that the findings of this study are actually consistent with what he sees in his patients every day. “It isn’t hard to imagine that as the brain is compromised by a process like dementia, some portions that help process our vision are affected,” he said.13
Practical Steps to Protect Your Eyes and Brain from Alzheimer’s
If you are worried about Alzheimer’s, the most important thing to understand is that the root cause of the damage is not memory loss itself — it starts years earlier with broken-down energy systems in your cells, blocked protein clearance, and weakened blood vessels in both the brain and the eyes. When you address these causes head-on, you give yourself a fighting chance to slow down or even prevent the decline. That’s why what you do today matters. Here are five steps I recommend you start putting into practice.
1. Lower your risk from hidden vascular stress — If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or a family history of stroke or dementia, your blood vessels are under extra pressure. These same vessels feed your retina and your brain, so keeping them strong is key.
Eliminate seed oils and processed foods from your diet, as they damage vessel walls, and replace them with tallow, ghee, or grass fed butter. I also recommend adding regular movement into your lifestyle, such as walking every day, to keep your circulation healthy and blood vessels flexible.
2. Balance your carbohydrates to protect energy production — Your brain and retina run on energy, and that energy depends on carbs. I recommend eating 250 to 300 grams of clean carbohydrates daily, unless you are very active and need more.
Start with fruit, fruit juice with pulp, or root vegetables before you try complex starches. If you have gut problems, sip dextrose water slowly throughout the day. This keeps your mitochondria producing energy smoothly, which is foundational for preventing the decline that shows up in Alzheimer’s.
3. Clear out protein waste before it builds up — To help your body clear out waste proteins, you need efficient sleep and strong circadian rhythms. Expose yourself to sunlight in the morning to reset your internal clock, and avoid blue light screens at night. If you sleep poorly, your brain doesn’t clear out the sticky amyloid that clogs your neurons. I recommend making high-quality sleep a priority because it’s when your brain takes out the trash.
4. Strengthen your retina with regular eye exams — If you are over 50, getting regular annual eye test is essential to help identify early warning signs of Alzheimer’s or dementia. Treat the exam as your early-warning radar, and keep track of results, just like you would monitor blood sugar or cholesterol.
5. Use sunlight and methylene blue to support cellular energy — Your retina and brain cells both rely on strong mitochondrial function to stay alive and sharp. Safe sun exposure helps your cells produce energy directly — however, you need to make sure to eliminate all seed oils from your diet for four to six months before going out during peak sunlight hours. Otherwise, the linoleic acid (LA) in these oils can become embedded in your skin and oxidize under UV rays, causing DNA damage.
Meanwhile, methylene blue, in its pharmaceutical-grade capsule form, has been shown to reduce reductive stress at doses as low as 5 mg once a day. If you spend time in the sun and use methylene blue safely, you give your cells a double advantage — more energy, less stress, and a stronger defense against the breakdowns that fuel Alzheimer’s progression. Read more about it in this article: “Methylene Blue Is Beneficial for Slowing Skeletal Aging and Treating Brain Disorders.”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Eye Exams and Alzheimer’s Detection
Q: How are eye exams connected to Alzheimer’s disease?
A: Research shows that twisted, narrowed, or poorly branching vessels in the retina resemble the same abnormalities that occur in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Because the retina is essentially an extension of your central nervous system, changes in the eye strongly mirror changes in the brain. Detecting these abnormalities during a routine exam could provide an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s years — sometimes even decades — before memory loss or confusion begins.
Q: What role do genetics play in Alzheimer’s risk shown through the eyes?
A: Genetics play a powerful role in shaping how your eyes and brain age. One mutation in particular, called MTHFR677C>T, affects up to 40% of people and disrupts blood vessel health. Studies on mice carrying this mutation revealed twisted, narrowed vessels and reduced branching in the retina, which closely resemble the vascular damage seen in Alzheimer’s patients. These abnormalities impair blood flow, restrict oxygen delivery, and contribute to cognitive decline.
Q: Are women at greater risk for Alzheimer’s-related eye changes?
A: Yes, women tend to face higher risks both in the brain and in the eye. Research on mice carrying the Alzheimer’s-linked mutation showed that females developed much more severe retinal damage than males. By 12 months of age — roughly middle age for mice — females already had fewer blood vessel branches and significantly lower vessel density. This directly parallels what doctors see in humans: women worldwide develop dementia at higher rates than men.
Q: Can vision problems predict dementia before memory issues appear?
A: Yes, vision problems often signal brain changes years before memory loss begins. A large study from Loughborough University followed more than 8,000 adults and tested their visual sensitivity, which is the ability to detect fine details, contrasts, and subtle changes in the environment. Those with reduced visual sensitivity were much more likely to develop Alzheimer’s within the following decade.
Q: What practical steps support eye and brain health to reduce Alzheimer’s risk?
A: First, reduce vascular stress by eliminating seed oils and eating healthier fats like tallow or grass fed butter. Second, balance your carbohydrates — your brain and retina need 250 to 300 grams daily for steady energy. Third, clear protein waste by prioritizing high-quality sleep and getting morning sunlight to reset your circadian rhythm.
Fourth, schedule annual eye exams and ask your doctor to check vessel health, treating it as an early-warning system. Finally, strengthen your cellular energy with safe sun exposure and pharmaceutical-grade methylene blue at 5 mg daily, which helps reduce reductive stress. Together, these steps give you more control over your long-term health, turning routine habits into a defense strategy against Alzheimer’s progression.
- 1 Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures
- 2 Alzheimer’s & Dementia, August 2025, Volume 21, Issue 8, e70501
- 3 Medical Xpress, August 26, 2025
- 4 Interesting Engineering, August 26, 2025
- 5, 6 Neuroscience News, August 26, 2025
- 7 Mol Neurodegeneration, 2025, 20, 8
- 8, 9 The Jackson Laboratory, May 4, 2025
- 10 EPIC-Norfolk. Sci Rep, 2024, 14, 5016
- 11, 12, 13 Medical News Today, April 18, 2024
How to Avoid and Treat Digital Eye Strain
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/03/27/digital-eye-strain.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola March 27, 2025
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Digital eye strain affects 55% to 81% of screen users, causing blurred vision, tired eyes, headaches and neck pain due to extended exposure to digital devices
- Environmental factors like improper lighting, workspace setup and screen positioning contribute to eye strain and worsen symptoms
- Taking regular breaks and limiting screen time help reduce eye strain by resting eye muscles and normalizing blink rates
- Nutrition plays a key role in eye health, with anthocyanins from berries and carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) from egg yolks acting as natural blue light filters
- Digital strain extends beyond eyes to overall health, causing sleep disturbances, musculoskeletal issues and even skin conditions like “screen dermatitis”
Our modern world has become undeniably tethered to digital devices. Indeed, the last decade has seen a massive surge in digital device usage across all age groups. This constant connectivity has brought with it a significant health concern: digital eye strain.
Digital eye strain, also known as computer vision syndrome (CVS), is a cluster of ocular, musculoskeletal and even behavioral problems triggered by extended exposure to digital screens, including blurred vision, tired eyes, headaches and neck pain.
As we rely more and more on screens, understanding digital eye strain and how to mitigate its effects becomes increasingly important. The good news is that research is providing valuable insights into both the causes and solutions for this widespread issue.
Many Factors Contribute to Digital Eye Strain
A review published in the journal Medicina explored the environmental, visual and physical factors that contribute to digital eye strain.1 The aim of this review was to consolidate the latest scientific findings to better equip eye care professionals and individuals with effective strategies to manage this widespread condition.
The review of numerous studies highlighted that asthenopia, a condition commonly known as eye strain or eye fatigue, is remarkably prevalent among people who regularly use visual display terminals like computer screens. In fact, studies show that anywhere from 55% to as high as 81% of screen users experience asthenopia.
Interestingly, while some research is still unclear on whether age directly impacts asthenopia during computer use, there’s evidence suggesting that starting screen use at a young age makes asthenopia more likely.
Furthermore, people over 30 are more prone to developing dry eyes specifically related to digital screen use. It’s also worth noting that women appear to report asthenopia more frequently than men, suggesting sex may play a role in the experience of these symptoms.
Beyond general eye strain, the Medicina review emphasized that using screens for extended periods disrupts various aspects of vision and eye function. For instance, prolonged close-up work on devices like cellphones has been linked to a condition called acute acquired comitant esotropia (AACE), particularly in younger individuals. This condition, where the eyes turn inward, leads to double vision and, if persistent, results in amblyopia, also known as lazy eye.
The type of device and how you use it also significantly influences the degree of eye strain. The review points out that prolonged smartphone and computer use is associated with higher levels of myopia, or nearsightedness, compared to using tablets or watching TV. Intriguingly, studies examining the link between screen use and intraocular pressure (IOP), the pressure inside your eye, have also yielded important findings.
One study discovered a small but notable increase in IOP linked to smartphone use, and this pressure change became more pronounced in low-light conditions. This is particularly relevant for individuals with conditions like normal tension glaucoma, where using smartphones in dim settings could elevate IOP further.
Environmental factors at your workspace also have a considerable impact on eye comfort while using screens, according to the review. Overhead lighting that shines onto the screen reduces text contrast, leading to increased eye fatigue and discomfort. Conversely, adjustable task lighting has been shown to provide relief for both visual and muscle strain, while also improving posture.
Work and Lifestyle Habits Affect Digital Eye Strain
Work habits, particularly the duration of screen use, play a key role in digital eye strain. The Medicina review highlights that extended hours spent on screens correlate directly with more pronounced visual symptoms. To counteract this, structuring computer work with frequent breaks is essential.
Schedules incorporating short breaks, such as micro-breaks every 15 minutes or five-minute breaks every 30 minutes, not only boost work efficiency but also help reduce eye and muscle discomfort.
Furthermore, excessive screen time, especially smartphone use, significantly affects sleep quality, leading to shorter sleep duration and reduced sleep efficiency. Studies have confirmed that this disruption of sleep patterns is just one of many physical and psychological side effects associated with too much screen time. It’s also been found that spending more than four hours a day on screens significantly increases the risk of developing dry eye syndrome, especially in older adults.
Additionally, lifestyle choices such as smoking introduce further risk, as smoking is a known risk factor for various eye conditions, including dry eye and cataracts, further complicating digital eye strain. Device-related factors, such as screen angle and display quality, also matter. Improper viewing angles, particularly screens positioned too high, are identified as a major risk factor for digital eye strain.
Poor screen resolution and screen glare exacerbate eye strain severity, with small screens and font sizes increasing eye strain due to focus issues. Furthermore, 3D stereoscopic displays and virtual reality headsets introduce additional strain on accommodation, convergence and tear dynamics, causing symptoms like motion sickness and fatigue, especially in women using VR headsets.
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Digital Screen Use Affects Your Eyes and Overall Health
The health of your eye’s surface is just one area impacted by digital screen use. The Medicina review discusses how prolonged screen use impairs spontaneous blinking, leading to increased tear film evaporation and ocular discomfort. Reduced blinking frequency and duration contribute to dry eye disease.
To combat this, the review suggests preventive measures such as taking eye rest breaks, practicing blinking exercises and modifying environmental factors like humidity. Blinking exercises, like closing your eyes for short durations and squeezing eyelids, help reduce dry eye disease symptoms and improve tear film quality. Using desktop humidifiers also enhance tear film stability and eye comfort.2
Digital eye strain extends beyond just your eyes, however. People who spend up to 12 hours daily on digital screens can experience headaches, sleep disturbances and musculoskeletal issues, including neck, shoulder and back pain. Improper posture, screen position and non-ergonomic furniture contribute to these musculoskeletal problems.
Smartphone use, in particular, often leads to abnormal neck bending, increasing muscle fatigue and pain. Furthermore, prolonged screen use also affects wrists, arms and hands, leading to carpal tunnel syndrome due to pressure on wrist tendons. Some individuals also develop “screen dermatitis,” a skin condition characterized by redness and irritation.
Nutrition Is a Key Component in Easing Digital Eye Strain
Can what you eat actually help your eyes cope with all that screen time? That’s the question explored in a compelling review published in the journal Nutrients.3 This research dives into the role of nutrition, specifically certain micronutrients found in supplements and foods, to lessen the symptoms of digital eye strain.
Oxidative damage and ongoing inflammation are major culprits in why digital eye strain develops. According to the Nutrients review, eating the right nutrients is a way to ease those bothersome eye symptoms. For instance, anthocyanins are the pigments that give berries and colorful vegetables their vibrant hues, and they’re celebrated for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting abilities.
Studies included in the review indicate that anthocyanins improve eye muscle function, which is key for focusing and reducing eye strain. Specifically, bilberry extract, rich in anthocyanins, has been shown to enhance the responsiveness of eye muscles after short periods of screen use, suggesting these nutrients could help eyes recover from the strain of digital devices.
Furthermore, anthocyanins also alleviate those subjective feelings of tired eyes and blurred vision that are common complaints among heavy screen users.
Another set of powerful nutrients discussed in the review are carotenoids, especially lutein and zeaxanthin. These are macular carotenoids, meaning they are highly concentrated in the macula, the central part of your retina responsible for sharp, central vision. Lutein and zeaxanthin act as a natural defense against blue light, the high-energy light emitted from digital screens, by filtering it out and neutralizing harmful free radicals produced by blue light exposure.
The review points out that maintaining good levels of these carotenoids is linked to better visual performance, reducing glare sensitivity, improving contrast and lessening overall visual fatigue — all symptoms associated with digital eye strain. These carotenoids aren’t just beneficial for vision; research suggests they also play a role in reducing psychological stress and improving sleep quality, which are often disrupted by excessive screen time.
Practical Tips to Prevent and Relieve Digital Eye Strain
Dealing with digital eye strain in our screen-filled lives can feel like an unavoidable part of the day, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The good news is, there are straightforward steps to ease the strain and make your eyes more comfortable. By making a few simple adjustments to your habits and environment, you lessen the impact of digital devices on your vision and overall well-being. Let’s get into some practical ways to start protecting your eyes today.
1. Embrace regular eye breaks — If you’re spending hours in front of a screen, taking regular visual breaks is paramount. While the 20/20/20 rule — look 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes — is a common recommendation, recent studies suggest that even this isn’t sufficient for everyone and longer breaks are necessary.4,5
Try to take a five-minute break for every hour of screen time. During these breaks, make sure you’re not just switching to another screen. Instead, get up, walk around, stretch and let your eyes completely relax from focusing up close. This is important for giving those tired eye muscles a rest and letting your blink rate return to normal, which helps keep your eyes properly moisturized.6
2. Avoid blue light exposure before bed — It’s really important to manage your exposure to blue light from screens, especially in the hours leading up to bedtime. Screen use before bed interferes with sleep, and lack of good sleep worsens eye strain.
To help with this, try to avoid screens after sunset. Also, in the evenings, dimming the lights in your home and using warmer light sources instead of bright, cool lights makes a difference. If you absolutely must use screens at night, consider using blue light filters on your devices or wearing blue light-blocking glasses.
3. Limit your overall screen time — One of the most direct ways to reduce digital eye strain is simply to cut down on screen time. Think about how much time you actually need to spend looking at screens for work and leisure. Are there areas where you can reduce usage?
Consider setting specific times for checking emails or social media, rather than constantly being connected. Perhaps swap some screen-based leisure activities for hobbies that don’t involve screens, like reading a physical book, going for a walk or spending time with friends and family face-to-face.
4. Optimize nutrition for eye health — Anthocyanins, the colorful pigments in berries, help reduce eye fatigue and improve muscle function. Lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids found in leafy green vegetables and egg yolks, act like internal blue light filters and antioxidants.
Your eyes are also highly susceptible to and damaged by polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) such as linoleic acid (LA), so avoid consuming seed oils (also known as vegetable oils) and stay clear of processed foods, fast food meals and most restaurant food, which typically contain them.
5. Spend more time outdoors — Getting outside more often is beneficial for your eyes. When you’re outdoors, you’re naturally looking at things in the distance, which gives your eye muscles a break from the constant close-up focus required by screens.
Sunlight is also different from artificial indoor lighting and screen light, and this has a positive effect on eye health. Plus, spending time outdoors is great for overall well-being, reducing stress and improving mood, which indirectly helps with physical symptoms like eye strain. Make an effort to incorporate regular outdoor time into your day, even if it’s just a walk during lunch breaks.
Frequently Asked Questions About Digital Eye Strain
Q: What exactly is digital eye strain, and how do I know if I have it?
A: Digital eye strain, also known as computer vision syndrome, is what happens when your eyes get tired and strained from too much screen time. You might notice symptoms like blurry vision, dry or irritated eyes, headaches, and even neck and shoulder pain. If you’re spending a lot of time on digital devices and experiencing these discomforts, it’s likely digital eye strain. It’s a common issue in our tech-heavy world.
Q: Why do screens cause my eyes to feel so tired and blurry?
A: Screens cause eye strain for a couple of main reasons. First, you blink much less when you’re focused on a screen, which dries out your eyes — blinking is like your eye’s natural windshield wiper.7 Second, the muscles in your eyes get tired from constantly focusing on a fixed, close-up point for extended periods. These factors combined lead to that blurry, fatigued feeling you get after prolonged screen use.
Q: Are children more susceptible to digital eye strain than adults, and are their symptoms different?
A: Children are in the high-risk group for digital eye strain, and it’s something to really keep an eye on. Children often spend even more time on screens than adults, and their eyes are still developing, which makes them more vulnerable.
Some studies suggest screen use in children could be linked to nearsightedness.8 Unlike adults who often self-manage, children might not always express their discomfort clearly, or understand why they’re feeling it, making proactive management important.
Q: Besides just eye breaks, are there changes I can make to my workspace setup to ease eye strain?
A: How set up your workspace makes a difference in reducing eye strain. Your screen position should be about arm’s length away and slightly below eye level. Adjustable task lighting is also great because, unlike overhead lights that cause glare, it lets you direct light where you need it without shining directly on your screen. Small ergonomic tweaks add up to a more comfortable screen-using experience.
Q: Can my diet play a role in managing digital eye strain?
A: Yes, what you eat supports your eye health in the face of digital eye strain. Specific nutrients like anthocyanins and carotenoids as especially beneficial. Anthocyanins help reduce eye fatigue and carotenoids improve visual performance and protect against blue light. Your eyes are highly susceptible to and damaged by polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) such as linoleic acid (LA) in seed oils, so eliminate the processed foods that contain them.
DMSO Transforms the Treatment of Infectious Diseases
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/01/17/dmso-infectious-diseases.aspx
Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor January 17, 2025
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a safe, naturally occurring substance with properties that make it effective for treating various medical conditions, including pain, injuries, wounds, strokes, spine injuries, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and internal organ diseases
- DMSO has broad antimicrobial properties, protects against microbial toxins, combats antibiotic resistance, and helps deliver healing deep into the body to treat otherwise inaccessible infections
- DMSO studies have generated evidence supporting its role in treating cancer and autoimmune disorders through its unique antimicrobial properties
- DMSO is highly effective against viruses like herpes and shingles, as well as conditions like feline panleukopenia in cats
- DMSO also proves valuable in treating persistent fungal and parasitic infections
Introduction
DMSO is a remarkably safe and naturally occurring substance (provided you use it correctly1) that rapidly improves a variety of conditions medicine struggles with — particularly chronic pain. For reference, those conditions included:
| Strokes, paralysis, a wide range of neurological disorders (e.g., Down Syndrome and dementia), and many circulatory disorders (e.g., Raynaud’s, varicose veins, hemorrhoids), which I discussed here. |
| A wide range of tissue injuries such as sprains, concussions, burns, surgical incisions, and spinal cord injuries (discussed here). |
| Chronic pain (e.g., from a bad disc, bursitis, arthritis, or complex regional pain syndrome), which I discussed here. |
| A wide range of autoimmune, protein, and contractile disorders such as scleroderma, amyloidosis, and interstitial cystitis (discussed here). |
| A variety of head conditions, such as tinnitus, vision loss, dental problems, and sinusitis (discussed here). |
| A wide range of internal organ diseases such as pancreatitis, infertility, liver cirrhosis, and endometriosis (discussed here). |
| A wide range of skin conditions such as burns, varicose veins, acne, hair loss, ulcers, skin cancer, and many autoimmune dermatologic diseases (discussed here). |
In turn, since I started this series, it struck a cord and I have received over 1400 reports of remarkable responses to DMSO many readers have had (compiled here).
This begs an obvious question — if a substance capable of doing all of that exists, why does almost no one know about it? Simply put, like many other promising therapies, it fell victim to a pernicious campaign by the FDA which kept it away from America despite decades of scientific research, Congressional protest, and thousands of people pleading for the FDA to reconsider its actions. Consider for example, this 60 Minutes program about DMSO that aired on March 23, 1980:
DMSO and Infectious Diseases
DMSO has a variety of unique therapeutic properties. Some of those make it incredibly well-suited to addressing microbial infections. For example:
• While nontoxic, it has an antiseptic effect that is harmful to microorganisms, especially the smallest ones. This property appears to be the most beneficial for herpes, shingles, and complex conditions with a microbiological component.
• It can remove the antibiotic resistance of bacteria. This is particularly helpful in widespread problematic infections that have gradually developed a resistance to many existing antibiotics (e.g., tuberculosis) and challenging infections that are not responding to antibiotics (e.g., ones that would otherwise require an amputation).
• It can deliver antimicrobial agents to areas that are typically difficult to reach (e.g., deep in a bone) and also directly to regions that would otherwise require a systemic application of the medication.
• It can increase circulation to many parts of the body, something which is often critical for resolving illnesses (as a healthy blood supply allows the immune system to enter and heal diseased areas). Likewise, pretreatment with DMSO has been shown to increase the immune system’s ability to resist a subsequent infection.
• Much in the same way DMSO protects cells from a wide variety of lethal stressors,2 it can also protect them from the harmful effects of bacterial toxins and can mitigate the toxicity of antimicrobial agents taken for a prolonged period.
In short, DMSO can transform the management of infectious diseases.
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Shingles and Herpes
Since many people struggle with Herpes (HSV-1 or HSV-2) and Shingles (Herpes Zoster), especially the pain which follows shingles (known as post-herpetic neuralgia or PHN), DMSO has been extensively studied for these uses. In turn, DMSO was found to significantly improve those conditions (and canker sores3), particularly when combined with idoxuridine (IDU), an antiviral that has poor penetration into tissues (and hence does not work alone).
• Herpes simplex
◦A 1965 study4 used 1% IDU in 90% DMSO (and 10% distilled water) in 7 patients with severe cutaneous infections and noted significant improvement in all herpes cases, with the only side effect being slight skin irritation from the solution.
◦A 1966 RCT5 (randomized controlled trial) of 21 patients with recurrent herpes found DMSO halved the durations of outbreaks, and when given with 5% idoxuridine, cut it to a third (with similar results also found in a 1967 study6).
◦A 1983 study7 found that DMSO effectively brought acyclovir (ACV) into the skin, caused a moderate reduction in herpes lesions, and dramatically reduced them when combined with acyclovir.
◦A 1990 RCT8 gave 80% DMSO mixed with 15% IDU to 301 immunocompetent female patients. The duration of pain was reduced by 2.6 days and the healing time to normal skin by 2.3 days.
◦A 2002 cell study9 found 0.65% DMSO reduced herpes viral replication by 50%.
Note: DMSO also helps herpes fever blisters, and DMSO with IDU has been reported to be effective in treating HSV whitlow (herpes on the fingers).10
• Shingles and Post Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN)
◦In 1967, a German investigator reported DMSO yielded generally good results in 10 of 11 shingles and PHN cases11 (with similar results being found in another 1967 study12).
◦Two 1970 RCTs showed that IDU in DMSO was at reducing the duration of pain and healing in shingles.13 The patients were delighted, for the pain disappeared within a median of two days.
◦In 1971, Dr. William Campbell Douglass conducted a study of 41 patients with shingles and PHN of whom 73.3% had a good response to DMSO and 13.3% had a fair response.
◦A 1974 RCT14 of 118 shingles patients and a 1992 RCT15 of 171 shingles patients found DMSO and IDU significantly shortened the vesicular phase, healing time, and duration of pain, and it significantly improved post-herpetic neuralgia.
◦A 1981 trial of 46 shingles patients also confirmed the benefit of DMSO and IDU.16
DMSO and Bacterial Infections
DMSO has five key properties that make it effective in treating bacterial infections:
1. Increased bacterial membrane permeability — DMSO enhances bacterial membrane permeability,17 making bacteria more vulnerable to antibiotics, especially those targeting internal structures (e.g., penicillin). This is crucial for treating infections like tuberculosis, which has a tough outer barrier.
2. Direct bacterial breakdown — DMSO can dissolve bacteria, causing their contents to leak out and effectively neutralizing them.
3. Disruption of bacterial function — DMSO interferes with bacterial metabolism by blocking the production of essential membrane proteins, as shown in studies with E. coli.18
4. Improved circulation — DMSO enhances blood flow,19 which helps combat chronic infections often caused by impaired circulation.
5. Protection against bacterial toxins — DMSO mitigates the harmful effects of bacterial toxins, protecting cells from stress.
DMSO also enhances the immune response,20 contrary to concerns about immune suppression, and has been shown to increase resistance to infections like typhus.21
Common Microbes
DMSO has been extensively tested against common infectious bacteria (e.g., staph, strep, E. coli, pseudomonas), both by itself and in combination with antimicrobial therapies.
After a 196422 study showed DMSO inhibited the growth of bacteria, a 1967 study tested it against various microorganisms, and found at sufficient concentrations that DMSO caused those organisms to dissolve into a sediment.23
A 1969 study24 found that 75% DMSO was bactericidal (mainly by causing their internal contents to leak out), while 15% was sufficient to stop bacterial growth.
DMSO and Head Infections
Since DMSO is effective in eliminating many common microbial infections, it has shown great promise in ENT (ears, nose, and throat) medicine, as many of those diseases result from infections with common bacteria and the inflammatory response to them (particularly since it is often challenging to get antibiotics to the site of the infection).
Much of this was demonstrated in the 1967 publication25 by an ENT doctor who observed that DMSO would often significantly calm inflammation from an infection in the head (including severe ones that were difficult to treat with antibiotics). He compiled all of his cases26 here:
• Eye infections — DMSO can treat various eye conditions, including macular degeneration and eyelid inflammation. In a 1976 study,27 it was combined with antibiotics to successfully treat eye infections. Additionally, DMSO can resolve pink eye after just a few applications.28
• Sinusitis — DMSO helps open blocked nostrils quickly by reducing swelling and promoting tissue healing.29 Studies have shown DMSO significantly alleviates sinusitis symptoms, including one 1967 study30 where most patients had excellent results. It also enhances the effectiveness of antibiotics in treating rhinoscleroma,31 a rare nasal infection.
• Dentistry — DMSO is used in dentistry as a mouthwash, relieving gum pain32 and preventing bleeding. It can alleviate toothache pain and reduce swelling after dental procedures.33 Dentists have found it effective for treating infections and saving loose teeth from periodontitis.34 Many studies35 show DMSO helps improve gum health, treat pulpitis,36 and accelerate healing after tooth extractions.37
Tuberculosis
Despite over a century of work, Tuberculosis remains the world’s most deadly microbe (e.g., in 2023, it was estimated38 to have killed 1.25 million people). This is mainly due to this tiny bacteria’s unique characteristics and high aptitude for developing antibiotic resistance.
Because of this, once the early DMSO researchers realized that DMSO could remove antibiotic resistance, their focus immediately went to tuberculosis. In turn, many lab studies39 have demonstrated DMSO’s utility for this challenging infection which has been corroborated in humans:
• A 1969 study40 of 32, 14 showed an absence of tuberculosis secretion and most showed improvement (e.g., reduced endobronchitis, perifocal infiltration and lung tissue destruction).
• A 1980 study41 used DMSO to treat children with pulmonary tuberculosis.
• A 1991 study42 found nebulized DMSO mixed with rifampin over 1 to 2 months was an effective treatment for 148 pulmonary tuberculosis and 18 obstructive bronchitis patients (e.g., it healed the destructive cavities caused by tuberculosis).
Bacterial Toxins
One of the primary reasons bacterial infections sicken and kill is because of the toxins they release. DMSO in turn, has been repeatedly shown to mitigate this. For example:
• DMSO has been shown43 to protect the duodenum from H. pylori induced chronic ulcers.
• In rats, DMSO was shown44 to create a dose dependent reduction in the fluid secretion and mucosal permeability triggered by C. difficile’s toxin (with its maximum inhibition occurring at a 1% concentration). Given how common C. difficile colitis is, this application of DMSO has great promise.
• DMSO was shown to protect cells45 from the shigella bacteria’s toxin46 (which causes severe diarrhea and bloody stools).
• Endotoxaemia occurs in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) entering the bloodstream. A 2008 study of 18 horses47 found DMSO reduced the fevers that followed artificially induced endotoxemia, suggesting DMSO’s utility in treating sepsis, particularly since, DMSO can protect cells48 from the damage LPS causes.
Note: One of the most important characteristics the early adopters of ultraviolet blood irradiation recognized about it was that UVBI could effectively neutralize toxins in the bloodstream (a property that saved a significant number of lives).
Challenging Infections
DMSO has shown promise for many other challenging infections:
| Sepsis — DMSO has proven effective in treating septic complications, especially in heart attack survivors. A 1982 study49 showed its success even against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In 1984 a Russian study50 confirmed DMSO accelerated recovery in critically ill septic patients, with one case of bladder infection improving after using DMSO.
Note: One author cited51 a case of a septic patient with a severe bladder infection who did not respond to antibiotics but recovered once he began taking one teaspoon of DMSO three times a day. |
| Lung infections — DMSO has treated chronic lung infections, with a 1975 study52 showing rapid recovery in infants with severe respiratory diseases when combined with antibiotics. A 2020 study53 reported that DMSO, combined with ceftriaxone, helped 31 lung abscess patients fully recover without recurrence.
Note: DMSO has also been repeatedly shown54 to effectively treat acute respiratory distress syndrome, a challenging lung condition that frequently follows severe infections and often requires ventilation. |
| Abdominal infections — DMSO, combined with antibiotics, has effectively treated peritonitis55 and abdominal abscesses.56 It helps concentrate antibiotics in the abdomen,57 providing extended treatment duration, especially for peritonitis, a fatal condition. |
Meningitis
|
| Osteomyelitis — DMSO has shown significant results in treating bone infections.60 Studies have found that combining DMSO with antibiotics and other therapies like hyperbaric oxygen speeds up recovery and reduces bone damage in both acute and chronic osteomyelitis.61,62,63,64,65,66 |
| Orchitis and epididymitis — In 1986, a Russian physician reported these conditions have an excellent response to DMSO.67 |
| Cancer and autoimmunity — DMSO has been observed to eliminate the unusual bacteria associated with many cancers and autoimmune diseases, which may in part explain its utility for those conditions.
Note: A wealth of evidence also supports DMSO’s use in a variety of challenging veterinary infections.68 |
Surgery
Three of the major issues encountered in surgery are:
- Surgical wounds (or burns) become infected before they seal and heal.
- Infections deep within the body need to be cut open so the infection can be drained or removed (or have antibiotics directly applied to it).
- Infected tissues must be removed (e.g., amputated) because the infection within them can’t be reached or addressed.
Fortunately, DMSO’s is uniquely suited to address each of these. For example, in this article, I discussed how many studies and reader testimonials show DMSO is a remarkable therapy for burns and wound healing, and here I reviewed the wealth of evidence that DMSO is a highly effective therapy for surgical scar healing.
Likewise, DMSO makes reaching a deep infection within the body possible without surgery. Numerous studies, in turn, demonstrate that DMSO can prevent and treat those infections:
| A 1969 case report69 highlighted a patient with a chronic fungal infection (that has high resistance to antifungals) who declined amputation in favor of antifungals dissolved in DMSO which saved his foot.
Note: There are many other cases of DMSO curing a chronic infection that had required amputation.70 |
| A 1978 surgical study71 used DMSO in combination with antibiotics to treat inflammatory infiltrates. |
| A 1984 study72 used DMSO to treat surgical wound infections. |
| A 1985 study73 found that injecting DMSO after severe mechanical trauma reduces the risks of a subsequent infection, while a 1984 study74 found that DMSO plus antibiotics prevent open wounds in the hands from developing purulent infections. |
| A 1990 study75 of 33 patients with phlegmons (inflamed areas under the skin) throughout the body found that a dressing with DMSO and silver nitrate, when compared to those receiving standard treatments, reduced the time required to begin a surgical repair by 2 to 2.5 times. |
| In 1998, Russian physicians reported that they routinely apply DMSO to surgical wounds as it accelerates healing and provides general infection control.76 |
Fungal Infections
A 2013 study77 used DMSO and antifungal agents on six different Candida species. It found 0.5% to 1% DMSO had an antifungal effect, but the inhibitory effect (with or without concurrent antifungals) varied significantly.
DMSO can also effectively bring antifungals to many parts of the body. DMSO for instance was shown78 to significantly increase the amount of ketoconazole that enters the brain and can transport griseofulvin79 through the skin (which in a 1974 study80 was used to successfully treat ringworm). Additionally:
- A 1965 study81 found DMSO was an effective treatment for ringworm and athlete’s foot, especially when combined with an antifungal.
- A 1977 study82 found DMSO (in combination with lidase) was a highly effective treatment for actinomycosis of the face and neck.
- A 1997 study83 found DMSO mixed with itraconazole treated fungal infections in horse corneas.
Parasites
There is also some data on how DMSO can treat parasites (e.g., 3% DMSO has been shown to significantly inhibit the growth of Trypanosoma cruzi,84 which causes Chagas disease). However, its primary value is bringing an antiparasitic medication to the region of infection (as parasites can often burrow quite deep into the tissues).
For example, two different 1966 studies (this study85 and this 25 person RCT86) found that DMSO plus an antiparasitic (e.g., 2% topical thiabendazole in 90% DMSO) was an effective treatment for hookworm infections in the skin. DMSO can also be combined with antiparasitic medications to reach challenging parasitic infections deep within the body. For example, a 1984 case report87 discussed DMSO treating a complex amoeba infection of the liver.
Conclusion
Many who’ve worked with DMSO believe it should be routinely utilized for severe infections, particularly those not responding to antibiotic therapy. Fortunately, we are in a unique moment where these forgotten sides of medicine finally have a chance to see the light of day.
Thus, I sincerely hope articles like these can begin to shift the medical system towards adopting a more sophisticated approach to infectious diseases that can help patients struggling with challenging infections.
Author’s Note: This is an abridged version of a longer article that goes into greater detail on the points discussed here and provides guidance for personal DMSO use (e.g., dosing, therapeutic precautions and where to obtain it) along with other natural approaches we’ve also found help many of those conditions (e.g., herpes and shingles). That article can be read here.
A Note from Dr. Mercola About the Author
A Midwestern Doctor (AMD) is a board-certified physician from the Midwest and a longtime reader of Mercola.com. I appreciate AMD’s exceptional insight on a wide range of topics and am grateful to share it. I also respect AMD’s desire to remain anonymous since AMD is still on the front lines treating patients. To find more of AMD’s work, be sure to check out The Forgotten Side of Medicine on Substack.
- 1 The Forgotten Side of Medicine, October 12, 2024
- 2, 19 The Forgotten Side of Medicine, September 15, 2024
- 3 Amazon, The DMSO Handbook: A New Paradigm in Healthcare
- 4 Ohio State Med J. 1965 Jun:61:532-3
- 5 Brit. Med. J., 1966, 2, 805-807
- 6 Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 141: 428-436
- 7 Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 411: 28-33
- 8 J Infect Dis. 1990 Feb;161(2):191-7
- 9 BMC Infect Dis. 2002 May 24:2:9. doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-2-9
- 10 Scottish Medical Journal. 1977;22(4):310-313
- 11 Zeitschrift fur Haut- und Geschlechtskrankheiten, 01 Sep 1967, 42(18):749-754
- 12 Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 141: 506-516
- 13 Br Med J. 1970 Dec 26;4(5738):776–780
- 14 Br Med J. 1974 Jun 8;2(5918):526-7
- 15 Med Clin (Barc). 1992 Feb 22;98(7):245-9
- 16 N Z Med J. 1981 Nov 25;94(696):384-6
- 17 Journal of Biological Chemistry, Volume 278, Issue 35, 33185-33193
- 18 Aust J Biol Sci. 1977 Apr;30(1-2):141-53
- 20, 21 The Forgotten Side of Medicine, October 20, 2024
- 22 Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 1964 Feb:6:134-5
- 23 Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1967 Mar 15;141(1):261-72
- 24 J. Pharm. Sci., 58: 836-839
- 25, 26 Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, (1967), 141(1), 451-456
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