When Your Friend's Kid Wakes Up With a Puffy Eye 👁️

Got a message from a friend this evening - her son's eye was looking super puffy, like a big under-eye bag. He'd mentioned it was crusty that morning and had been feeling irritated all day, like something was stuck in there or maybe in the tear duct.

She asked if I had any homeopathic remedy suggestions, and honestly, this is one of those situations where a couple different remedies could work depending on what's really going on.

The two main contenders:

Apis - Great for puffiness and swelling that looks almost like a bee sting. Usually feels better with cold.

Pulsatilla - The go-to for blocked tear ducts, especially when there's thick, crusty discharge in the morning and that feeling of something stuck.

Here's where it got interesting: he said the eye felt cool and like warmth might actually help. That warmth-seeking is a Pulsatilla indicator. Plus, if it's a blocked tear duct (which the crusty mornings + under-eye puffiness + irritation really suggest), Pulsatilla is THE remedy for that.

Beyond the remedy:

Warm compresses are super helpful for blocked tear ducts. And there's a simple massage technique - gently massage from the inner corner of the eye down along the side of the nose. You're basically helping manually drain what's backed up. Do this a few times a day along with the remedy.

My friend had already given Apis (totally fine!), so the plan is: let the Apis have a shot with a few doses over several hours. If there's no improvement, switch to Pulsatilla - especially if that blocked tear duct seems likely.

The homeopathy approach: One remedy at a time so you can see what's actually working. Give it a fair chance (several doses over 4-6 hours), and if the body doesn't respond, that tells you it's not the right match. Then you switch.

It's moments like these I'm grateful to have these remedies on hand and friends who trust natural approaches. Hoping that little guy's eye feels better by morning!