Ayurveda has many helpful tips for keeping the eyes strong and healthy.

1. Washing with cold water.
Early in the morning, when washing your face, fill your mouth with cold water and at the same time splash cold water into your open eyes. Traditionally, when you splash cold water into your eyes, you should keep the water in your mouth. This will give a double cooling effect and make the eyes fresh, refreshed and clear. (Of course, if you feel more comfortable, you can use a special eyewash cup.)
2. Ghee lamp.
A traditional way of calming and strengthening the eyes, used in Ayurveda, is to look at the flame of a ghee lamp. To make a lamp, take a small vessel, place a wick (or cotton swab) in it, and pour in the ghee. Cotton wool should be made of natural cotton – synthetic will burn out in an instant. The wick should not be too thick. Apply some ghee to the tip of the wick and light it.
Put the lamp at a distance of 50 – 75 cm from the eyes, if you wear glasses, then remove them and within 2 – 3 minutes, without blinking, look at the flame. This procedure improves tejas, the “radiant” quality of the eyes.

3. Do Surya Namaskara regularly.
Another effective way to keep your eyes healthy is to do the Sun Salutation exercise regularly. The 12 cycles of Sun Salutation is one of the best exercises for strengthening the eyes as well as for the health of the whole body.

To strengthen and improve the eyes, do the following exercises:

1. First, blink your eyes quickly several times. Then, keeping your eyes open, move them in this order:
up and down,
from side to side,
diagonally: top left – bottom right,
diagonally: top right – bottom left,
rotate them clockwise and then counterclockwise.

2. Extend your hand in front of you, looking at the tip of your index finger, then gradually bring your finger closer to your forehead, following it with your eyes until it touches the “third eye” between the eyebrows.

3. Look at the tip of your nose and then up towards your third eye.

4. Finally, close your eyes tightly and then relax them. These exercises improve blood circulation in the muscles of the eyes.

5. End with an exercise that you can do whenever your eyes are tense or tired: rub your palms together for a few seconds to warm them up, and then cover your eyes lightly. Feel the warmth of your palms soothing. Hold your palms in this position for one to two minutes. It strengthens and gives strength to the eyes.

The following six remedies are especially helpful for people with a Pitta constitution who are more likely to have eye problems.

1. Eye wash. Boil a teaspoon of triphala in a cup of water for 3 minutes. Cool and filter the decoction through two or three layers of gauze or through a paper filter so that no triphala particles remain in it. Rinse your eyes with this decoction.

2. Castor oil. Put a drop of pure, preservative-free castor oil in your eyes before bed. Then rub the oil (1 teaspoon) into the soles of your feet. In the morning your eyes will be clear and happy!
To soothe burning eyes.
If you feel a burning sensation, put 1 drop of lukewarm ghee into your eyes before going to bed. The oil will lubricate the eyelids and eyelashes, soothe and strengthen the eyes.

3. Rose water. In sore eyes, you can also drip 3 drops of pure rose water. Rose water has a cooling effect.

4. Healing cream. Collyrium, which can be purchased in Indian shops (ask for kajal, it is sold in the form of a cream or eyeliner), is made from castor oil and natural camphor. It is black in color and is used as a cosmetic to line the eyes, but it is also a very beneficial medicine for the eyes. Scoop some cream with your little finger (the nail should be neatly trimmed). While looking in the mirror, gently pull down the lower eyelid and carefully apply the cream to its inner edge.

5. Reduce voltage. With excessive eye strain in Ayurveda, it is recommended to put a piece of sterile cotton wool moistened with cold goat’s milk on closed eyes. This will reduce eye strain and make you feel better. (If goat milk is not available, cow milk can be used, but goat milk is preferred.)

Read sitting. Keep your spine straight while reading. Avoid reading lying down.
Do not use a glare monitor screen in a computer. If you use a computer, make sure your monitor has an anti-glare coating or equip it with a screen protector to prevent glare from harming your eyes.