A stye is a small, red, and pimple-like bump that forms around your eyelid. It can develop when the small holes or glands around the eyelid is clogged by dead skin, dirt, or oil. This may lead to bacteria build-up and eventually, infection. Fortunately, stye treatment is available and you can even apply some remedies at home.
Take note, a stye is usually painful. If it isn’t, what you have might be chalazion and not stye. A chalazion is similar to the stye, but chalazion takes more time to heal.
If you have a stye, you may experience symptoms like soreness, pain, inflammation, and itching. You may also notice an increase production of a tear as well as a crust forming around your eyelid.
Stye Treatment
A stye is not a serious medical issue, but its presence is pretty irritating. In fact, stye inflammation can last up to 3 days.
Fortunately, a stye is treatable and there are multiple ways to get rid of it. You can start with home remedies or try some medication. There are also things to avoid during the time of having style. Lastly, if stye becomes too much of a burden, that it hinders your day-to-day activities, consulting your doctor is your best bet.
Furthermore, after the three day period, it breaks open and drains by itself lasting for about 7 to 10 days healing process through the use of simple home remedies. Professional may or may not have a shorter period of healing stye.
Home Remedies
Listed below are some of the treatment that you can consider to remove and prevent stye:
Use a Warm Compress
This is the most effective way to get rid of eye stye. To make a warm compress, prepare a clean cloth and warm water (not too hot), then, simply wet the cloth with it. Wring the cloth and place it over your eye. Stay the damp cloth for about 5 to 10 minutes but never try to squeeze or puncture the stye. The warmth in the warm compress brings the pus up to the surface of the lid, dissolving it and the oil so the stye is naturally dry out. Do this step 3 to 4 times a day.
Clean Your Eyelid with a Mild Soap and Water
Mix a no-tear baby shampoo with warm water and use this formula to clean your eyelid. Using a clean washcloth or a cotton swab, dip it to the formula and gently wipe it on your eyelid every day, until the stye is gone. This process also protects your eyelid from future styes.
Saline solution is another option to wipe the stye out. It can breakdown and drain bacterial membranes.
Use a Warm Tea Bag
You can use tea bags in replace of a warm washcloth. Black tea is especially effective because of its antibacterial quality which reduces swelling.
To prepare your tea treatment, place the tea on a mug and pour hot water. Imagine that you are just making tea for drink. Let it stay on the mug for a minute before removing it out. Do not put it instantly in your eye once you remove it from the mug. Let it cool until it has enough warm to be placed on your eye, keeping it for 5 to 10 minutes. Use a different tea bag for the other eye.
Massage the Area to Promote Drainage
Gently massaging the area with clean hands, and combining it with lid wipes, promotes stye drainage. But stop the massage therapy if it causing pain. Keep the area clean and also avoid touching it once the stye is drained.
Medication and Consultation
Take Over-the-Counter (OTC) Painkillers
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen can help ease the pain of a style. But remember to follow the packaging instructions so you can apply the correct dosage. If serious pain is occurring from the stye and it interferes with your daily activities, call your doctor immediately.
Use Antibiotic Ointments
Stye ointments are available at most pharmacies. To use stye ointment, put on a quarter-inch inside your affected eyelid.
Some reminders. Make sure that the product you will buy is specially made to be used in or on the eye. Avoid the use of topical steroids as this may cause some unwanted side effects. Lastly, antibiotic eye drops have little evidence to be proven effective against external stye.
Doctors Recommendations
Your doctor may provide for the best treatment against your stye, especially if it’s affecting your vision and is internal. He or she may prescribe antibiotic creams for the infections, or he may give you a steroid shot for inflammation reduction.
Things to Avoid
Avoid Wearing Contact Lenses
Wearing contact lenses is quite sensitive. It can catch and spread the infection on your eyelid. So if you are wearing one, try to stick with eyeglasses until your stye completely heals.
Avoid Using Makeup
Using makeup can irritate the stye, causing for a delayed healing process. Moreover, your makeup tools can transfer the bacteria to your other eye. So, regularly wash your brushes and replace your three months old eye products.
Remember not to pop, squeeze, or puncture your stye as this can lead to more serious complication such as blepharitis, cellulitis, or conjunctivitis. Or if not, spread the infection around your eyelid or to your other eye. A stye is not contagious to other people, but it is contagious locally. Meaning to say, a bacterial infection can spread to other parts of your body, more specifically your other eye. Go to your doctor office if the stye is inside your eyelid. He or she can professionally drain the stye for you.
Prevent Spreading the Stye
You have a bigger risk of having another stye if you already have one. Additionally, it can form inside your eyelid. Also, the larger the number of bacteria in the pus, the bigger the chance that it spread and form another stye whether in the eye you currently have or in the other eye. It can even transfer to another person’s eye.
- To avoid having an eye stye or styes, follow this simple tips.
- Make sure that you have clean hands by washing it with soap and water before you touch your eyes.
- Clean the eyelids using cotton swabs and warm water mixed with mild shampoo or soap.
- Clean your face, removing all makeup, especially eye makeup, before going to bed.
- Do not share towels with someone who has a stye.
