How to help soothe the discomfort of painful eye styes

A stye in the eye can be both painful and unsightly. While they usually tend to heal on their own, there are a few measures you can take to help reduce the discomfort. But at what point should you see a doctor?

A stye occurs when one of the glands inside the eyelid or near the eyelashes gets plugged and becomes infected with a bacterium called staphylococcus. The infection causes the eyelid to swell and a pimple-like lesion to appear. This can happen inside the eyelid or along the lash line. Even though it’s a mild infection, styes can be painful.

To alleviate the discomfort of a stye on the eyelid (an external stye, or hordeolum) just apply a warm compress to the affected eye for 15 minutes, three or four times a day.

• Compresses help relieve the pain and encourage the pus to drain, thus accelerating the healing process.
• You could see an improvement after a day or two, and the stye may possibly disappear completely within a week.

Consult a healthcare professional if any of the following complications or symptoms arise. The stye:

• Persists for more than a week.
• Opens and pus drains from the sore
• Is very big and painful or you suffer from chronic styes.

You may be prescribed antibiotic eye drops or ointment, or the stye may be opened and drained to speed recovery.

• Never puncture a stye yourself. You could risk spreading the infection and/or injuring not only your eyelid but also your eyesight!

Sometimes the stye is formed on the inside part of the eyelid.

• This type of stye, called an internal stye (or internal hordeolum) is usually more painful.
• The treatment is generally the same as an external stye, except that antibiotics tend to be prescribed more frequently.

Although styes are not very contagious, they can be spread from one eye to the other. Certain behaviours can aggravate the infection or slow down the healing.

When you have a stye, you should:

• Wash your hands before and after touching the infected eye.
• Use a clean facecloth for each compress.
• Ensure that the drops or ointment container doesn’t come into contact with your eye.
• Avoid applying eye makeup on the affected eye until the stye is fully healed.
• Wear glasses instead of contact lenses during stye treatment.

To prevent styes, never rub your eyes when your hands are dirty.

• Don’t share your makeup, and don’t use cosmetics that are past their use-by date.
• If you wear contact lenses, remove them every day and clean them properly.
• Ask your doctor about being tested for diabetes if you suffer from styes on a regular basis. People with diabetes or weakened immune systems are more likely to develop styes.