I'm going to quote out of this great book called "THE COMPLETE HERBAL HANDBOOK FOR FARM AND STABLE" by Juliette de Bairacli Levy, orig published in 1952, most recent ed. I know of 1991: "EYEBRIGHT (Euphrasia officinalis. family Scrophulariaceae) The plant is plentiful in meadows and pastures. Distinguished by its tiny growth, and miniature, solitary, white flowerets, tinged with purple, and marked with a yellow eye. The name of the plant is derived from its remarkable eye restorative powers, even curing blindness in many cases. The whole plant is also nervine, tonic and astringent. Its use is both internal and external, strengthening greatly the eye nerves when so used. The high potassium and sulfur content of the plant make it also of value in treatment of gastric ailments, especially insufficiency of gastric juices (yes, I'm quoting the whole passage!). USE: Treatment of weak and inflamed eyes, keratitis, conjunctivitis, ulcers. Also all gastric disorders. DOSE: One handful of herb brewed in one pint of water. give in morning and night. Use the brew also for external bathing of the eyes". Now, I have eyebright on my property, but since I wasn't positive when I needed this for my rooster, I found eyebright capsuls at our herb store and at our CO-OP. Of course, I live in Humboldt County, CA, and obtaining natural herbal remedies is not a problem out here. There's always the plain used tea bag as a compress. Chamomile tea is good for pain and inflamation, so you could use that type of tea bag, too. Good luck.
P.S. I used the eyebright from the herbal store on my rooster, who had lost one eye a year previous, and his remaining eye was competely swollen shut and oozing (draining puss-like liquid) due to an injury. His eye was open and functional w/in 2 days. However, I also used Terramycin eye ointment, because I was concerned about the infection and I had it on hand. SO --- what is it that worked??? Excellent question.....
