Stye treatment

If you have a stye, try not to worry. They are usually not serious and go away by themselves in a few weeks.

However, it’s possible for a stye to develop into a chalazion. This is a hard lump which isn’t painful but can last for a few months or even years.

There are several things you can do to either speed up the healing process or relieve the pain of a stye. These include warm compresses, eyelid scrubs, eye massages and taking painkillers. If you have a stye which lasts for a long time or if you keep getting styes, you should talk to your doctor. They can give you antibiotics or steroids.

Stye relief

If your stye is painful, see a pharmacist or doctor and they may recommend over-the-counter pain killers like paracetamol or ibuprofen to control the pain.

You can also treat the stye by using a warm compress several times a day to help reduce the swelling. To do this, first wash your hands with soap and warm water, then soak a clean face cloth in warm water and hold it against your closed eye for 5 to 10 minutes. If the cloth cools down too quickly, wet it with warm water again. The warmth can ease the swelling and encourage the pus to drain away. It can even help the stye resolve sooner, which is safer than squeezing it yourself.

While you have a stye, don’t use eye creams or lotions. Also, don’t wear contact lenses, as they can spread the infection from the stye to your cornea, on the front of your eye. You should also avoid sharing towels or face cloths with anyone else, to prevent infecting another person. Throw out any eye make-up or make-up brushes that touch your eyes, as they are likely to be infected. You can replace them after your stye is healed.

Stye remedies

The main remedy for a stye is to keep it clean. Use warm water and a gentle eye cleanser. Also, holding a clean warm compress against it for 5 to 10 minutes and massaging it once or twice a day can help relieve any pain.

You can also use a lid scrub, which is an eye cleanser designed to treat eyelid hygiene specifically. You apply it while gently massaging the area, to remove dirt and obstructions from the edge of your eyelid. This can help with drainage, so it encourages the pus in the stye to drain away more quickly.

If your stye doesn’t go away by itself in a few weeks, you may need to see a doctor. They can use a sterilised needle to make a small cut in the inside or outside of the eyelid, to burst the stye and drain the pus or blocked oil away. Don’t worry – if this is the case you’ll have a local anaesthetic.

Stye medication

As mentioned, if you have a stye which is causing you pain, over-the-counter painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen can help.

Apart from painkillers, there aren’t any stye medicines or stye cures. Antibiotics aren’t very effective for styes, so it is unlikely your doctor will prescribe them. However, if you keep getting styes or have a stye that lasts a very long time, you might be given some antibiotic pills or an antibiotic ointment.

If you have a stye triggered by a skin condition like rosacea, your doctor may give you medicine to treat that condition, like a skin cream or antibiotic pills. This will help prevent it from causing more styes in the future.

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Stye treatment

Stye remedies

Stye medication

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