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Stye on the eye. What to do when you get one?

A stye is a painful pimple or abscess that forms around the edges of your eyes. Styes are often filled with pus and may look like a limp or a boil. They form when an oil duct around your eyes gets blocked with cells or bacteria. Most styes resolve on their own within a few days, and some might need treatment.

There are two types of styes:

External stye: These are the most common type, and they form on the outer side of your upper or lower eyelid. External styes form when your eyelash follicle is infected.

Internal stye: These form on your inner eyelid touching your eyeball. Internal styes form when an oil gland on the inner eyelid is infected.

When the clogged gland takes too much time to get better, scar tissue forms around it. There won’t be any pain, but the bump remains. This condition is called a chalazion. Treatment for both stye and chalazion is pretty similar. Let’s look at some home remedies to accelerate the healing of styes.

Warm compress

Soak a clean cloth in warm water and gently press on the affected eyelid for 5-10 minutes. The warmth brings the pus to the surface and helps the pus to drain out naturally. The comforting texture of the warm cloth helps to ease the pain and discomfort. Repeat this four or five times a day for faster recovery.

Pre-moistened eyelid cleansing pads

This is a safe and effective way to keep your eyelids clean. You can get these from drug stores. Gently wipe your eyelid with these pads three or four times a day.

Warm tea bag

Soak a tea bag in boiling water and rest it to cool down enough to place on the eyelid. Keep the warm tea bag on the eyelid for 5-10 minutes and repeat this two times a day. The anti-bacterial properties in tea leaves will prevent the stye from getting worse.

Clean water splashing

Just splash some clean water on the eyes repeatedly for some time. It keeps the area clean and helps with the pain.

Soapy water

Clean the eyelid with a mix of clean water and mild soap. Tear-proof baby shampoos are a good choice to do this. Gently wipe the eyelid with this mild soapy water using a cotton swab or clean cloth. Keeping the area clean is always a good idea, and this will prevent styes from forming again as well.

Massaging

Gently press and massage around the affected eyelid with clean hands. Doing so will promote drainage of the blocked-up fluid in the stye. Don’t do this if the stye is hurting or already draining.

How to prevent the formation of stye?

When to see a doctor?

A stye or chalazion is not a concerning eye disease. But if it causes too much discomfort and happens more often, you might need to consult an eye specialist to rule out the possibilities of more serious eye disease. Keeping your eye hygiene on point is the best way to avoid getting a stye!

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