Using Breast Milk for Eye Infections

You may be aware of a rumor suggesting that squirting a small amount of breast milk into your infant’s eye can cure eye infections. Following this, many mothers prefer using breast milk, a natural substance, instead of a medical treatment, like antibiotics. However, is breast milk an effective medical treatment for eye infections in infants and children?

As a parent, it is important for you to know that goopy, drippy eyes caused by blocked tear ducts or cold symptoms go away on their own without any treatment or intervention.  So there is no need to use breast milk, or any other treatment option for that matter,  as a remedy in the case of a cold or blocked tear duct.

The Use of Breast Milk as Medicine

It is a well-known fact that breast milk is an essential addition to your infant’s health. It is full of:

• Nutrients – carbohydrates, proteins, and fats
• Immune-building blocks
• Beneficial bacteria
• Prebiotics
• Growth factors
• Live cells
• Enzymes
• Hormones
• Vitamins and minerals
• And many other amazing components!

It isn’t the end of the world if your baby does not receive breast milk during the entirety of their infancy. However, the longer they receive the nutrients from the breast milk, the better.

Breast milk has been used as a folk medicine remedy for eye infections and other conditions for millennia. But the real question is, does science support using breast milk for eye infections or other conditions?

Medical Research Concerning Breast Milk

Surprisingly, medical studies have shown that the beneficial bacteria found in breast milk are effective against certain strains of gonorrhea that cause eye infections. However, breast milk is not effective against all bacterial eye infections.  In addition, it typically does not eradicate the infection, but only seems to suppress it. If your infant’s eye infection goes untreated, they could develop long-term eye damage. Therefore, it is best to seek proper medical treatment for your baby rather than relying on the perceived healing powers of breast milk.

In many parts of the developing world, people do not have broad access to the antibiotics necessary to treat bacterial infections. Breast milk may be the only thing at their disposal to fight off the infection because they can’t get the medical care they need for their babies. In this case, breast milk truly is better than nothing.

For example, ophthalmia neonatorum is a gonorrhea infection of the eye that is common in infants. Mothers often pass the gonorrhea infection to their baby’s eye during natural birth.  Breast milk can suppress the gonorrhea infection, though antibiotic eye drops are typically required to eradicate it completely.   Please visit our Eye Drops at Birth blog for more information.

Breast Milk for Other Infections

Throughout human history, there is evidence of breast milk being used for different ailments. Here are the other infections or conditions that breast milk has been and is being used for:

• • • Ear infections – An additional claim is that breast milk can be squirted into the ear canal of the patient to treat ear infections. Breast milk is unable to cross past the eardrum to get to the bacteria in the middle ear that is causing the infection. So this claim is invalid.
    • Eczema – Some mothers also claim that breast milk helps with their child’s eczema. There is no scientific evidence supporting the use of breast milk as a topical treatment for eczema, as no studies have been conducted on the matter. However, when compared to hydrocortisone 1% treatment, breast milk was as effective for topical treatment.
    • Rhinitis – Mothers also use breast milk in the nostril for rhinitis in infants.  Mothers who have used breast milk for this purpose say that it brought a “positive effect.” However, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim.

    

    Any support for using breast milk as a treatment is purely anecdotal at this time and has little to no scientific evidence. This is because even the studies involving breast milk weren’t directed at exploring its benefits for eye infections or other medical conditions. However, we often tell our GHT families to use the methods that work for them.  We warn against anything that could harm your child. Please discuss the remedies you aren’t sure about with your pediatrician or holistic health practitioner first.