Styes are small, pimple-like bumps that are red and painful at the tip of the eyelid. Sometimes, the eyelash follicles or oil glands in the eyelids become infected. Although it looks red and quite painful, this swelling usually goes away on its own in about a week. Despite the irritation and pain they cause, a stye is usually harmless. You can also do several ways to relieve pain and reduce swelling, as well as prevent the stye from coming back.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Treating Stomach
Step 1. Clean
Styes usually appear spontaneously, but sometimes they can also be caused by exposure to a foreign object (such as dust or makeup). The stye itself is a small infection caused by bacteria. If you have a stye in your eye, the first thing you should do is clean it.
- Wash your hands thoroughly, then use a cotton ball or clean hands to clean the stye with warm water. You can also use an eye scrub or "baby" shampoo that won't hurt your eyes once it's diluted.
- Make sure your hands, as well as the cotton ball used to clean the stye, are clean. Or, you can actually bring dust or other germs to the section.
- Styes are most often caused by staphylococcal bacteria that enter the eyelash follicles, or glands in the corners of the eyes, often from touching the eye with dirty hands. However, other bacteria can also cause stye.
Step 2. Give a warm compress
Swelling and pain caused by a stye should be treated by applying a warm compress. Prepare a warm compress with a clean towel or other cloth dipped in warm water. Place the compress over your eye and leave it there for five to ten minutes.
- Once the compress has cooled, soak it again in warm water and repeat for another five to ten minutes.
- Give a warm compress three or four times a day. Continue this treatment until your stye heals.
- A warm (but not hot) tea bag is also quite effective as a compress. (Some people suggest using chamomile tea bags, which can soothe the eyes.)
- The warm temperature provided by the compress may cause the stye to shrivel or ooze pus. If this happens, rinse the liquid that comes out gently. Do not press or squeeze the stye; Just apply a firm but gentle pressure.
- Once the pus drains from the stye, the symptoms should subside quickly.
Step 3. Do not press or try to break the stye yourself
You may be tempted and try to forcefully expel the pus or discharge from the stye, but resist the temptation! Squeezing or trying to pop the stye will only make it worse, spreading and worsening the infection, and even scarring.
Step 4. Use an antibacterial cream
Purchase an over-the-counter antibacterial cream to treat a stye. If you are unsure about which cream to choose, ask your pharmacist what options are available. Apply a small amount of cream to the stye, being careful not to get it in your eye.
- This cream can help heal the stye faster.
- The local anesthetic contained in this cream can relieve pain due to stye. However, if it gets into the eyes, this cream can cause serious problems. So apply very carefully.
- If any cream gets into your eyes, rinse gently with warm water. Then, call your doctor.
- Do not use the cream more often than recommended on the package.
Step 5. Try natural home remedies
Certain natural ingredients can help heal a stye and reduce its pain and swelling. Do not let this material get into the eyes, and if your eyes feel painful or uncomfortable, stop using it immediately. Although not scientifically proven, you may want to try the following natural remedies for stye:
- Use water soaked coriander seeds. Soak coriander seeds in water for an hour, strain the seeds, and apply the water to your eyes. Coriander seeds are believed to have the property of reducing swelling in the stye.
- Use aloe vera. Aloe vera can reduce swelling and redness. Cut an aloe vera leaf, and apply the sap of the flesh to the affected area. If you don't have a whole aloe vera leaf available, replace it with a cotton swab soaked in aloe vera juice. Some people even like to mix aloe vera juice with chamomile tea.
- Use a guava leaf compress. This home remedy is often used to relieve pain and swelling caused by a stye. Wet guava leaves with warm water and apply them to your eyes for 10 minutes.
- Use potatoes. Mash the potatoes to form a paste and apply to a clean, soft cloth. Then, apply the cloth to the stye to reduce swelling.
Step 6. Use an over-the-counter pain reliever
If your stye is very painful, use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce it for the first few days. Choose aspirin or ibuprofen for quick pain relief.
- Use according to the dosage recommended on the package.
- Do not give aspirin to children under 16 years of age.
Step 7. Visit a doctor
Seek medical attention if your stye doesn't heal after one week. If there is severe pain, the area is reddened or swollen, or if your vision is impaired, seek medical attention immediately. If the stye gets worse, it may be due to another condition, and you may need to undergo the following treatments:
- Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics if you have conjunctivitis due to a bacterial infection that causes pink eye. This condition usually gets better quickly after antibiotics are given.
- The doctor may insert a needle or sharp-tipped knife into the stye to make a hole in it. This will create a hole in the stye, and the pus in it can drain until your stye heals.
- If you have skin problems such as rosacea or seborrhea, you may be prone to blepharitis, an inflammation of the eyelid margins. In this case, the doctor will advise you to start cleaning your eyes specifically.
- If you don't have an optometrist yet. You can check your condition with a general practitioner and ask him to refer to an ophthalmologist, look for information on ophthalmologists in your city or near you from the phone book or the internet.
- You should be able to call your doctor at any time during your stye. Don't wait up to a week to get it checked out.
Method 2 of 2: Prevent Stye From Recurring
Step 1. Wash your eyelids
If you have frequent styes, your eyes may be sensitive to certain bacterial infections. Use a clean towel and a small amount of a mild shampoo, such as baby shampoo, or a special eyelid scrub to clean your eyelids. Rinse thoroughly using warm water.
If you have frequent styes, your eyelids should be cleaned every day
Step 2. Wash your hands before touching your face
One of the most common causes of stye is bacteria passing from your hands to your eyes. Do not touch or rub your eyes.
Wash your towels regularly, and don't share the same towel with someone with a stye
Step 3. Get in the habit of keeping contact lenses clean
Wearing contact lenses requires you to touch your eyes frequently, so make sure your hands are clean every time you put them on and take them off. Contact lenses themselves can also spread bacteria, so make sure to use a cleaning solution and wash them every day.
- Do not wear contact lenses while you have a stye. Wearing contact lenses on the eye that has a stye will increase the risk of spreading the infection from the stye to the cornea of the eye.
- Do not wear contact lenses for longer than the recommended time. If you have daily contact lenses (disposable contact lenses), throw them away after you use them every day. If you have monthly contact lenses (contacts that are reusable and must be changed once a month), be sure to put on new contact lenses after four weeks of use.
- Don't wear your contact lenses overnight. Even contact lenses that are safe to wear overnight can cause problems if you are prone to styes.
- Follow your ophthalmologist's advice regarding the use of contact lenses. Do not wear contact lenses in prohibited conditions, such as when swimming (unless you use waterproof swimming goggles to protect them).
Step 4. Use eye makeup with care
Eyeliner and eyeshadow applied to the edges of your eyelids can cause a stye, especially if you frequently wear heavy makeup and fix it back during the day. Apply makeup above the lash line, and limit the amount.
- Don't sleep wearing makeup. Use a makeup remover to remove it, then splash warm water on your face to remove any remaining makeup remover before bed.
- Change your eye makeup brushes and sponges regularly. The brushes, pencils, and sponges you use to apply eye make-up will get dirty over time, and you may spread bacteria while using them.
- Similarly, contact lenses, pencils and eye brushes, and other similar objects often come into contact with the eyes. If these objects carry harmful bacteria, infection causing stye will be very easy to occur.
- Don't share your eye makeup with other people.
Tips
- If you wear contact lenses, replace them with glasses during your stye.
- To temporarily relieve a stye, place a cold slice of cucumber on your eye and leave it on for 10-15 minutes.
- If you don't want to buy a new brush, use antibacterial soap and olive oil to clean it.
Warning
- Consulting a doctor is the right choice before trying to treat a stye on your own.
- Do not try to puncture or crack the stye yourself. You may only make the infection worse by spreading the bacteria in it, and causing scarring.
- Don't wear makeup around your eyes when you have a stye, as this can make the problem worse.
