We found no controlled trial showing that putting ghee in or around the eyes helps, and no NHS page we read recommends it. Do not use ghee as eye drops at home, and see an eye doctor for any eye pain, redness or change in vision. If you are considering netra tarpana, or already use ghee or kajal in your eyes, ask your doctor first and follow their advice.
This is general information, not medical advice. It gives no amounts or schedules, because there is no evidence on which to base them.
At a glance
- In a 2017 survey of rural Gurgaon by researchers at AIIMS, 529 of 2,055 adults (25.7%) put home remedies in their eyes, and 62 of them (11.7%) used ghee.
- A 2024 review of eleven Ayurvedic texts found 774 mentions of ghee's benefits, and 10.98% of them were for vision, ear, nose and throat.
- The 2020 netra tarpana trial for dry eye in the journal Ayu had 30 patients, allocated them alternately, and compared two ghee preparations with no non-ghee group.
- The largest ghee eye-drop trial we found, 120 postmenopausal women in Frontiers in Medicine (2026), compared two medicated ghees with each other and had no placebo group.
- The NHS says to call 999 or go to A&E for any change in sight, such as wavy lines, flashing or loss of vision.
Is it safe to put ghee in your eyes?
Nobody has shown that it is safe or that it helps. We found no controlled trial of plain ghee drops used at home, and no NHS page we read mentions ghee as an eye treatment. Researchers who surveyed rural India warn that traditional eye remedies can carry infection, so keep ghee out of the eye unless your doctor advises otherwise.
That warning comes from a 2017 population study in PLoS One by researchers at the eye centre of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Of 2,055 adults asked in rural Gurgaon, Haryana, 529 used some traditional product in their eyes. Kajal was the most common (61.4% of them), then honey (31.4%), ghee (11.7%) and rose water.
In their introduction, the authors write that traditional eye medicines may carry infection, through contamination and through delays in proper treatment, and they link such practices to corneal infections and ulcers. Their study counted who used what; it did not measure harm from ghee itself.
What is netra tarpana?
Netra tarpana, also called akshi tarpana, is an Ayurvedic eye procedure in which ghee, plain or medicated with herbs, is held over the eye for a set time. Ayurvedic researchers describe it as one of the kriyakalpa, the local procedures for the eye.
In a 2020 dry-eye study in the journal Ayu, black lentil flour and water were made into a dough and shaped into a wall around each eye. With the eyes closed, ghee was poured inside the wall; the patient then opened and closed the eyes slowly for about 30 minutes. The study lists a red eye, fever and rhinitis as reasons not to give it.
A 2024 review by Kataria and Singh in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine counted 774 mentions of ghee's benefits in eleven Ayurvedic texts. Vision, ear, nose and throat benefits made up 10.98% of them, and the review notes that modern science has limited studies of ghee's functional benefits. Our article on ghee in Ayurveda covers the wider picture, and our piece on medicated ghee, or ghrita explains the herbal preparations used in most of these studies.
Has any trial shown that ghee helps the eyes?
No trial we found compares ghee with a placebo or with standard dry-eye treatment such as artificial tears. A PubMed search on 13 October 2026 for ghee or ghrita with dry eye returned 4 records, and one for tarpana with trial terms returned 4. The studies that do exist are small, and most compare one ghee preparation with another.
- Dry eye, 2020 (Ayu). Thirty patients were allocated alternately to tarpana with Triphala Ghrita or with goghrita manda, the liquid top layer of cow ghee. It was open-label, both groups got ghee, and each group was compared only with its own scores before treatment.
- Dry eye after menopause, 2026 (Frontiers in Medicine). 120 women were randomised to one of two medicated-ghee eye drops, both taken with an oral Ayurvedic preparation, in a single-blind design. One ghee did better than the other. There was no placebo group and no artificial-tear group.
- Eye strain from screens, 2012 (Ayu). Thirty patients were split into three groups: tarpana with an oral herbal powder, tarpana with cow ghee alone, or advice on working at a computer. Tarpana alone gave results the authors call insignificant, and they call the study preliminary.
- Myopia, 2010 and 2011 (Ayu). Two small studies of tarpana with medicated or plain ghee in short-sighted patients. One was an open trial in which 30 of 41 patients finished; in the other, 40 of 54 finished. Neither had a group that went without ghee, so neither can separate an effect of ghee from anything else.
Kataria and Singh list several of these studies and conclude that more research is needed. None tested the bedtime drop of ghee that people try at home.
What does the NHS advise for dry eyes?
The NHS says dry eyes are common and not usually serious, and its self-care advice does not include ghee or any food. It suggests cleaning your eyelids every day, taking breaks from screens, using a humidifier, and asking a pharmacist about eye drops, gels or ointments. Persistent dryness needs an optician or GP.
To clean the eyelids, the NHS says to press a flannel soaked in warm, not hot, water around the eyes, massage the lids gently, then wipe away excess oil and crusts with cotton wool soaked in warm water.
What about kajal and ghee in a baby's eyes?
Kajal, also called kohl or surma, raises a separate concern: lead. A 2010 letter in the Oman Journal of Ophthalmology says most commercially produced kajal contains high levels of lead, that prolonged application may cause lead to build up in the body, and that the US FDA does not permit it in cosmetics.
The letter's author surveyed 100 children under 12 at a paediatric hospital in northern India. Eighty-six had been given kajal. About 80% of families made it at home, most often from the soot of an oil lamp mixed with oil or eye ointment; the letter does not mention ghee. No study we found shows that homemade kajal is safe for a baby's eyes. Ninety per cent of mothers applied it on their elders' advice, and more than half of parents did not know what it was for.
A 2024 study in BMC Pediatrics, based on group discussions with mothers and grandmothers in rural Odisha, found that putting cow ghee or breast milk in a baby's eyes was mostly a grandmothers' practice, and less popular with today's mothers. The NHS page on red eye says a baby under 28 days old with red eyes needs an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111. Our article on ghee for face and skin covers ghee on the skin rather than in the eye, and our piece on ghee nasal drops covers the related practice of nasya.
Ghee for eyes: what each practice claims and what we found
The verdicts are ours, drawn from the sources above.
| Practice | What is claimed | Evidence found | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netra tarpana with plain or medicated ghee, in a clinic | Ayurvedic texts list vision among ghee's benefits | Small studies in Ayu; dry-eye and myopia studies gave every group ghee; tarpana alone not significant for screen eye strain | Unproven; ask your eye doctor first |
| Medicated ghee eye drops | Relief of dry eye | One 2026 randomised trial of 120 women comparing two ghees, no placebo group | Not shown to beat standard care |
| Plain ghee drops at home | Used as a home eye remedy, per a rural survey | No trial found; the survey's authors warn traditional eye remedies can carry infection | Do not use |
| Kajal or kohl on a child's eyes | Parents in one survey said it improves eyesight or protects the eyes | Most commercial kajal contains high levels of lead, per a 2010 ophthalmology letter | Do not use |
When should you see an eye doctor?
See a doctor rather than trying any home remedy if your eye is painful or red, or your sight changes. The NHS sorts eye symptoms by urgency.
- Call 999 or go to A&E for any change in sight such as wavy lines, flashing or loss of vision, pain when looking at light, a red eye with a severe headache and feeling sick, a very dark red eye, or an eye injury.
- Get an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 if your eye is painful and red, or if you wear contact lenses and have a red eye, which could be an infection.
- See an optician or GP if your eyes are still dry after a few weeks of home treatment, or the shape of your eyelids changes.
If ghee or kajal in your eyes has caused irritation, stop using it and tell the doctor exactly what you used.
The short version
Netra tarpana is a traditional Ayurvedic procedure, done in clinics in the studies we read, and ghee's use for the eyes rests on tradition rather than trials. The studies we found are small and most compare one ghee with another, so none shows that ghee helps the eyes or the eyesight. The NHS advice for dry eyes is eyelid cleaning, screen breaks and pharmacy eye products. Do not put ghee or kajal in your own or a child's eyes, and see an eye doctor for pain, redness or any change in vision.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- NHS (2025). Dry eyes. NHS website.
- Gupta N, Vashist P, Tandon R, Gupta SK, Kalaivani M, Dwivedi SN (2017). Use of traditional eye medicine and self-medication in rural India: A population-based study. PLoS One.
- Timmapur GM, Fiaz S (2020). Efficacy of Triphala Ghrita and Goghrita Manda Tarpana in the management of Shushkakshipaka w.s.r. to dry eye syndrome: An open labelled randomized comparative clinical trial. Ayu.
- Kataria D, Singh G (2024). Health benefits of ghee: Review of Ayurveda and modern science perspectives. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.
- Mohta A (2010). Kajal (Kohl) – A dangerous cosmetic. Oman Journal of Ophthalmology.