Enjoy Eyebright Tea To Keep Your Eyes Brightening

Last Updated on 03/16/2020 by Desmond

At a past post about “Eyesight Protection Tea Recipes” we mention one herbal tea call “Eyebright Tea”.

It’s not hard to see this herb has a deep relation with eyes to get such a name.

That’s right, in medieval Europe, almost all the doctors took eyebright herb as the first choice for curing eye disease.

Does eyebright deserve to its name? Let’s know more about it.

What Is Eyebright Tea

Eyebright name originates from the Latin names Euphrasia Officinalis, which means Gladness. It originates in Europe and is also growing in Asia and North America. Euphrasia is an annual herb of the Orobanchaceae family with white flowers with red or purple stripes and yellow spots.

The ancient Europeans believed that the flowers of eyebright with fine red stripes, just like the appearance of the eye full of the bloodshot when the eyes are upset. It’s been a long time, and Euphrasia used to treat various eye discomfort symptoms, keep eye health, and relieve eye strain.

In traditional folk remedies, doctors tend to use eyebright extract to make eye drops to treat eye diseases. In the literature, eyebright is very effective in treating blepharitis, pink eye, and other eye diseases.

It was said that because of the many older people’s vision has been degraded, and after they took adjuvant treatment with eyebright, get the bright and everything clear again. Gladness! So as they called.

Eyebright tea made from the dried herb stem and leaves, not only make one’s eye brightening but also cure children’s amblyopia, that was what folk used did.

At present, in the market, there are many eyesight health products, eye drops, contain ingredients of eyebright. Of course, there is a lot of dried eyebright tea, take one cup may relieve eye strain when working.

What Is Eyebright Tea Good For

Eye Health

Research shows, Euphrasia for excellent eye health benefits may come from it is rich in vitamins A, B, C, and E, all are the beneficial nutrition for the eye. And the Zn, Se, and Cu, etc. contained in eyebright also help to improve the health of the retina and lens.

There is still insufficient scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of eyebright in treating eye diseases.

In folk remedies, doctors usually use the water extract of eyebright(can regard as eyebright tea) to apply on the eye directly, to cure the eye disease such as glaucoma, pink eye(conjunctivitis), eye floaters, cataracts. But it also with the risk of infection.

People in Europe also have the habit of drinking eyebright tea to keep the eyes bright. It relieves eye congestion caused by overuse of the eye, and cure sty.

There are eyebright teabags sold on the market. After having the tea, you can try to give a hot compress to your eye with the teabag for a while when it still warm, relieves eye strain further.

Colds

Just like tea, eyebright tea also contains tannins and flavonoids and other polyphenols, which makes it has certain anti-inflammatory properties, and play an adjuvant role in the treatment of colds.

Allergy

The tannic acid in eyebright tea is a natural astringent, which can reduce the secretion of mucus and help hay fever patients relieve the allergic symptom.

In traditional folk remedies, the treatment of pink eye syndrome (blepharitis) with the application of Euphrasia extract may also be attributed to the astringent effect of tannic acid and the inhibitory effect of quercetin on the release of histamine.

Nasosinusitis

The anti-inflammatory properties of eyebright can not only help to treat eye inflammation and colds, but also play a prominent therapeutic role in the treatment of nasosinusitis with its astringent properties.

Chronic nasosinusitis patients can have a cup of eyebright tea to relieve the discomfort caused by disease effectively.

Eyebright Tea Side Effect

Eyebright as a treatment for eye diseases has been controversial, and the FDA has not approved eyebright as an external treatment for eye disease so far.

Therefore, eyebright tea and other products are all sold as eye health products or health drinks.

“The dose makes the poison.” Although the use of Euphrasia extracts for external eye disease treatment is considered to have a risk of infection or exacerbation. However, there are no specific cases that show having eyebright tea will cause side effects. We can regard it is safe to consume.

After all, eyebright tea is a kind of herbal teas, and it may still have some potential side effects for somebody.

Pregnant

There is no evidence to support the consumption of eyebright tea pregnant women so far, so during pregnancy is to avoid drinking eyebright tea.

Eye operation

The benefits of eyebright on the eyes is evident. But this effect may influence the patients who have recently undergone eye surgery, such as cataract extraction, corneal transplantation, laser correction, or who is preparing for surgery.

Diabetes

Research showed that eyebright stimulates the secretion of insulin and reduces blood sugar. Diabetes patients should avoid drinking eyebright tea during drug treatment, or get the advice of the doctor first.

Allergic & Discomfort

If you feel eye discomfort, headache, nausea, or allergic reaction after consuming eyebright tea or using eyebright teabag for external application, go to the doctor at once, and stop having eyebright tea anymore.

Reference

Eyebright: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, and Warning
Do Eyebright Drops and Supplements Benefit Health?
Assessment of Eyebright (Euphrasia Officinalis L.) Extract Activity in Relation to Human Corneal Cells Using In Vitro Tests
Richard Whelan ~ Medical Herbalist ~ Eyebright
Euphrasia rostkoviana hayne – active components and biological activity for the treatment of eye disorders