If you see a tiny red bump usually with a white head, outside or inside your Eyelid, it’s most likely a Stye. Stye on eyelid can be sore and looks like a pimple. However, it’s nothing serious.

A stye won’t affect or damage your vision. It occurs when one of the glands along your eyelid is irritated and clogged, just like when a skin gland on your face turns into a pimple.

People often have a stye on just one eyelid. However, you can have a stye in both eyes at the same time. It can be a repeated issue or a one-time thing. Let’s talk about styes.

What is a Stye?

A stye (hordeolum) is a tiny red bump that looks like a pimple. It usually appears on the outside edge of the eyelid. Eyelids have many oil glands, especially around the lashes.

Dirt, dead skin, or oil buildup can block or clog these small holes. When that happens, bacteria can grow inside and result in a stye. It’s filled with inflammatory and pus cells mad when a clogged follicle or gland becomes infected. A stye can occur on the inside or outside of your eyelids.

External styes begin in the eyelash follicle or the oil gland and they’re located on the outside edge of the eyelids. Internal styes tend to be more painful and push the eye as they grow.

They usually start in the oil (meibomian) gland within the eyelid tissue. Both types can annoying, painful, and uncomfortable. However, they usually disappear in a couple of days.

What Causes Stye on Eyelid?

Even if you take good care of your eyes, styes can still appear. They’re usually caused by Staphylococcus, a bacterial that lives on your skin. This bacterial is normally harmless.

When she transfers to your eyes and becomes trapped in a hair follicle or gland, styes and infections can happen. Rubbing or touching your eyes is how the bacteria get transferred.

However, other factors can increase the risk of bacteria entering your eye such as utilizing contaminated eyeliner or mascara, leaving makeup overnight, or not getting enough sleep.

You can also get a stye if you have itchy eyes from allergies or hey fever, skin conditions such as rosacea, medical conditions like diabetes, or inflammation of your eyelids (blepharitis).

The risk of getting a stye is increased if you have had one previously. Other factors that increase the risk of getting a stye include utilizing wrongly cleaned, expired, or disposable contacts.

Improper use or care of contact lenses can cause infections. Avoid touching contacts with dirty hands or wearing contacts while sleeping. Styes can reappear after they’ve healed.

How to Prevent Stye on Eyelid?

You can prevent stye on eyelids by taking medications to relieve itchiness from allergies or hay fever and treating seborrheic dermatitis, rosacea, and blepharitis.

Also, keep your contacts disinfected and clean, wash your hands or use a hand sanitizer before touching contacts, avoid rubbing or touching your eyes, and don’t reuse disposable contacts.

If you already have a stye, avoid wearing eyeliner or mascara, discard all old makeup, don’t wear contact lenses, and wash your hands frequently. Also, never let anyone utilize your makeup.

Bacteria can be transferred through infected makeup. Replace your solid eye pencil every 2 years, liquid eyeliner every 3 months, and your mascara every 3 months.

Stye on Eyelid Symptoms

Common symptoms of a stye include a crust that forms around the eyelid, itchiness, soreness, swelling, pain, discomfort, redness, and increased tear production.

Styes often disappear on their own within a week or two. If your stye doesn’t hurt, it can be a chalazion. The cures are similar but a chalazion can take longer to heal.

Stye on Eyelid – When to See a Doctor?

Styes usually disappear on their own without any medication. Occasionally, issues that require a doctor’s opinion occur such as rapid growth, the discharge contains blood and a lot of swelling.

New signs of infection or increased swelling could mean you’re developing a serious infection. See your doctor if your vision is affected and you notice redness and swelling around your eyes.

How to Cure Stye on Eyelid Quickly?

Usually, styes disappear without any medications within a week or two. They also aren’t contagious and dangerous. You can speed up the healing process of stye by applying some of these tips.

• Warm compress

This is one of the most common treatments for styes. The heat helps bring the inside of the stye on the surface and dissolves the oil and pus so that your stye can drain easily.

Utilize a clean towel with warm water. Wring the towel so it’s damp instead of dripping. Apply the towel over your eye for about 5-10 minutes. You can do this a few times a day.

• Clean your eyelid

Avoid harsh chemicals when cleaning your eyes. Instead, use non-irritating hypoallergenic ingredients like water and soap.

The skin around your eyes is thinner and more sensitive than the rest of your face. Thus, you need to be super careful with cleansing items.

Opt for tear-free sensitive baby shampoo and combine it with warm water. Use a cotton swab or a clean towel to gently clean your eyelids.

Do this every day until your stye vanishes. Keep your eyelid clean to prevent new styes. Another possible remedy saline solution.

• Warm tea bag

Instead of utilizing a warm compress, you can utilize a warm tea bag. Opt for a standard black tea. It’s an anti-bacterial product that helps reduce swelling.

Prepare your black tea as usual. Then, wait until the tea bag cools enough to apply over your eyelids. Let the tea bag calm your swelling for about 5-10 minutes.

Utilize a separate tea bag for each eye. You can utilize black tea as a compress a few times a day to ease any discomfort and swelling associated with styes.

• OTC pain medication

Take some type of pain medication like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) to get relief. Check the instructions on the package for proper dosage.

• Avoid wearing contact lenses and makeup

If you have a stye, avoid wearing makeup like mascara and eyeliner. Otherwise, you can irritate the eyes even more and drag the healing process.

The worst part? You can also spread the infection to your other eye because some tools like brushes can transfer bacteria.  Throw out any makeup that’s over 3 months old.

Replace your contact lenses with regular glasses if you have a stye. Buy a new set of contact lenses when your stye heals to prevent future infections.

• Use antibiotic ointments

If you have a mild stye, you can use an OTC antibiotic ointment to the eye area. However, consult an eye doctor or dermatologist to treat a stye that’s very painful or blurs your vision.

Avoid utilizing topical steroids because they can cause side effects. Use eye products made to be utilized on or in the eye. There’s little evidence that antibiotic eye drops help with styes.

• Massage the area

Gently massage the eyelid to speed up drainage with clean hands. Once the stye drains and heals, avoid touching your eyes and keep the area clean.

• Visit a doctor

For a stye that’s affecting your sight, your doctor can professionally drain it. They can also help decrease swelling and inflammation with a steroid shot or prescribe a cream for bacterial infections.

Related Questions

Q: Can you pop stye on eyelid?

A: Don’t touch, squeeze, or pop a stye. It can seem tempting but popping will release pus and spread the infection. If the stye is internal, contact your doctor and ask for professional drainage.

Q: Can stye be on the upper eyelid?

A: Yes, a stye is a small red pimple-like that can appear on both lower or upper eyelid. The bacterial that lives on the surface of your eyelids clog an oil duct and result in a stye.

Q: How to pop stye on eyelid?

A: Professionals strongly advise against squeezing, popping, or touching a stye. Otherwise, you can spread the infection. If you’re dealing with an internal stye, see a doctor. Your doctor can professionally drain it. If you’re dealing with an external stye, try homemade remedies.

Q: How to drain stye on eyelid?

A: First and foremost, wash your hands with warm water and soap or use a hand sanitizer. Never touch a stye with dirty hands. Then, soak a clean towel in warm water (but not hot).

Place the towel over the stye. Keep the towel over your stye for about 5-10 minutes. You can repeat the process a few times a day. Massage the area to get the stye to open and drain.

Q: What causes stye on eyelid?

A: Lack of sleep and stress can increase the risk of getting a stye but the cause of most styes is unknown. Poor eye hygiene such as utilizing an expired mascara or eyeliner, or leaving your makeup overnight can also cause a stye. Chronic inflammation of the eyelids can also cause a stye.

Q: How to care for stye on eyelid?

A: Never try to pop or squeeze a stye. Otherwise, you can spread the infection to your other eye. Styes, on most occasions, disappear on their own within a week or two.

If the stye isn’t healing, a topical antibiotic can be utilized. Or you can try some of the following methods and get rid of your annoying and painful stye in a matter of days.

• Don’t bother the stye. Squeezing, touching, or popping can only make things worse.
• Keep your eyelids clean. Gently wash the affected area with warm water and mild soap.
• Put a clean warm towel over your affected eyelid. Run warm water over a clean towel and wring out the towel and put it over your closed eye. Gently massage the affected eyelid and repeat the whole process 2-3 times a day. These steps can encourage the stye to drain naturally.
• When you have a stye, keep your eyes clean at all times. Avoid eye makeup such as eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara until your stye has healed. Get rid of the expired or possibly contaminated makeup. Also, utilize glasses instead of contact lenses. Try to go without contact lenses until the stye heals, especially if you suspect that they came in touch with bacteria associated with a stye.
• If you experience severe swelling, pain, or blurred vision, see a doctor immediately.

Q: What does a stye on eyelid look like?

A: Styes look a lot like regular pimples. They’re usually red with a white head and appear near the edge of the eyelid. However, they can also form on the inside of the eyelid. In most cases, styes vanish within a week or two without any treatment. If your stye is filled with blood, see a doctor.

Q: Is stye on eyelid contagious?

A: A stye isn’t directly contagious just as a pimple is similarly not contagious. It’s a result of an irritation or local inflammation that can’t be spread to other people via casual contact. However, a large number of bacteria in pus can cause other skin breakouts.

The Takeaway

Styes appear when a clogged hair follicle or gland becomes infected. They usually appear on the edge of your eyelids. They can also occur on the inside of your eyelids.

Styes can be caused by different things including lack of sleep, rubbing your eyes with dirty hands, dirty or expired makeup, reusing disposable contact lenses, and some skin conditions.

They can be quite painful but usually vanish on their own within a week or two. A warm compress can speed up the healing process. A stye that doesn’t disappear in 10 days tops, causes vision problems, and bleeds should be evaluated by your doctor. They can professionally drain it.

Hopefully, you find this article helpful. If you have any tips or questions, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. Let’s chat about styes and exchange opinions.

The post Stye on Eyelid – Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Natural Remedy Ideas.