Can castor oil help the eyes? What to know about social media claims

Is it OK to put castor oil in your eyes? TikTok videos promote using castor oil for vision problems, but eye doctors say there's little evidence benefits outweigh risks.

Castor oil has long been considered a jack-of-all-trades home remedy, used as a laxative, a moisturizer and as a chest rub to ease lung congestion. Now some people on TikTok claim they're using castor oil as a way to treat vision problems.

Doctors warn that's a way to ruin your eyes.

Dozens of videos that have gotten millions of views show people rubbing castor oil over their eyelids, across their eyelashes and under their eyes to help treat issues like dryness, floaters, cataracts, poor vision, and even glaucoma. 

Castor oil is a type of vegetable oil produced by pressing the seeds of the castor bean plant. It’s been used for thousands of years in traditional and folk medicine to treat a range of issues from bronchitis to skin infections. 

It's considered safe to take as a laxative, but because of potentially severe side effects like vomiting and dizziness, castor oil isn't widely used anymore.