Boric acid is a mildly acidic compound made up of hydrogen, oxygen and boron. Boric acid is an antiseptic that fights viruses, bacteria and fungus. Boric acid solution is very easy to make and is a useful natural remedy for a variety of infections in dogs and cats, including eye infections, ear infections and yeast infections.
To use boric acid for your pet, you will need to make a solution of boric acid and water.
How to Make a Boric Acid Solution to Treat Infections
You will need medical grade boric acid. You should be able to find this at your local pharmacy, though it may be kept behind the counter and you may need to request it from the pharmacist.
You will also need pure water. Distilled water is ideal to use with your boric acid as you will not have to worry that it has any contaminates or other chemicals. If you cannot get distilled water, use purified water. If you must use tap water, be sure to bring it to a complete rolling boil on the stove before you use it.
- Boil 1 cup of water on the stove or in the microwave.
- Allow the water to cool just a bit.
- Put 1 teaspoon boric acid powder into a clean glass jar.
- Pour the very hot cup of water over the boric acid.
- Stir to dissolve.
- Cover with a lid.
- Allow the solution to cool before you use it.
- Your solution will keep for several weeks unless it becomes contaminated.
You can put your solution into a clean plastic squeeze bottle with a squirt top for easy application to the cotton balls. Do not use the squeeze bottle to directly apply the solution to your pet as it is too easy to contaminate the container, which can spread infection.
How to Use your Boric Acid Solution for Eye Problems
Eye infections in dogs and cats are not uncommon. These infections may be viral or bacterial, commonly called conjunctivitis or pink eye. They may or may not accompany another infection in the body, like a respiratory virus. A boric acid eye wash solution is comforting and healing.
This solution can also be used to treat eyes that are irritated from allergies or other irritants.
Use cotton balls to apply the cool boric acid solution to the eyes. Dip a cotton ball into the solution and wipe one of your pet’s eyes. Get a second cotton ball, dip it into your solution and wipe the second eye. Even if only one eye is affected, always clean both eyes with the eye wash as eye infections spread so quickly. There is no harm in treating an uninfected eye with this solution.
Always use a clean cotton ball for each eye.
Use the boric acid solution morning and night. Usually improvement is seen within a day. Ideally you will treat twice daily for a full 3 days. Even if the infection is completely gone, you should still treat once a day for the rest of the week to make sure it does not reoccur.
How to Use Boric Acid Solution for Ear Infections
Boric acid solution will help with ear infections caused by viruses, bacteria or yeast. It can also help with mites in the ears.
Saturate one clean cotton ball with your boric acid solution. Clean out one ear.
Using a second cotton ball, clean out the second ear.
Clean both ears twice daily for a week. You can use this treatment once or twice a week as a preventative if needed.
How to Use Boric Acid Solution for Yeast Infections
If your dog or cat has a topical yeast infection, you can treat it with your boric acid solution.
Saturate a cotton ball with your boric acid solution and apply the solution to any infected spots on the skin. Apply the solution twice a day for two weeks or longer.
This method is also a natural remedy for ringworm.
Have you used boric acid eye wash to treat an infection in your pet? We would love to hear from you!
Sources:
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/boric_acid
