Oh, honey, no!
TikTok is abuzz with a painful new wellness hack that promises eye problems can be cured with raw honey.
Acolytes claim that a few excruciating drops of Jimerito raw honey applied to the eyes can rid them of floaters — the dark dots that cloud vision — and even clear glaucoma and cataracts.
Jimerito honey, which retails for as much as $80 a bottle, is harvested from stingless bees.
Honey drop advocates maintain that it contains a glucose molecule called trehalose that helps cells hold moisture and alleviates dry eyes, a condition that occurs when the eyes aren’t producing enough tears or the tears evaporate too quickly, leading to gritty, painful agitation.
One particularly convincing honey eye devotee explains, “It contains flavonoids that protect your eyes from oxidative stress. Raw Jimerito honey contains a wide range of amino acids that help rebuild damaged tissue.”
He adds, in a conspiratorial tone, “Doctors would never tell you this, but people have removed their floaters after one use. When you apply one small drop in each eye, it will stimulate your tear ducts, helping to remove mucus from behind your eyes.”
Yet, as many, many TikTok videos show, the treatment seriously stings.
In one clip, an herbal practitioner shared footage of a woman howling in pain after having the honey eye drops administered. He captioned the clip with the claim that the drops can “clear vision,” “increase vision range” and “fix ear ringing.”
In another post, another TikTok user explained that the drops were recommended to her during an ayahuasca ceremony. After testing a drop on each eye, tears can be seen streaming down her face.
She takes a few breaths before reporting that “everything seems so crisp,” and despite the obvious pain, she plans to continue using the drops.
It seems that these pupil patsies may have failed to properly read the directions, as many commercially available Jimerito drops recommend dissolving a drop in warm water and applying it as an eye wash, a decidedly less painful approach.
Eye experts, as you may have guessed, are beyond skeptical.
Optometrist Bryony Allen from Specsavers told the Daily Mail this week, “Floaters, cataracts and glaucoma are all conditions related to the inside of the eye, and while there are eye drops for glaucoma — which reduce the pressure of the eye, most other types of eye drops do not get into the eye through the cornea or conjunctiva — the outer layers of the eye.”
Allen admits that while certain research suggests the anti-inflammatory properties of honey can be used to treat pink eye and/or dry eyes, the sting outweighs the benefit.
“There is no clear evidence this is effective, and there could be harmful side effects, including stinging and redness after applying the honey,” she told the Mail.
Allen urges people with eye concerns to speak with their doctor rather than their shaman about treatment options.
