Almost everyone has had a stye at some point. It is a bacterial infection on the edge of the eyelid which manifests as swelling. As you know, the stye takes a few days to disappear. However, you can help eliminate a stye quickly if you follow certain tips from OneHowTo which we detail below. There are several causes that can cause a stye.
- Water and warm chamomile
- Gauze or towels
- Wide pyjamas or nightgown
First, note that styes are contagious, so you should avoid sharing towels and clothes with others in order to stop it spreading. Also, you must not touch the stye as dirty hands could infect it and make it worse. Learn how to avoid spreading styes in this article.
To reduce the inflammation of the stye, boil water with a bit of chamomile and apply over the affected eye without letting it cool, but be careful not to burn yourself. Take a gauze or towel and repeat several times a day for about 10 minutes; the heat will favor its disappearance and chamomile will help reduce inflammation. If you have an itchy stye, it will also help relieve it.
Although a stye consists in eye puffiness, we should never apply ice to reduce them; the treatment of styes must always involve heat. In this way we will make the stye mature until it opens and releases the fat inside.
That is why, in some countries, styes were traditionally treated by applying a gold object such as a ring and rubbing it on a cloth or item of clothing to warm it and then placing it on the stye. A variant is heating a spoon, letting it cool slightly and then applying.
Also, the doctor may prescribe antibiotic creams to eliminate the bacteria that cause the stye. You should apply it as directed, and above all, with clean hands to not worsen the infection. See this other article, if you want to know more about why styes appear.
At bedtime, we recommend using wide pyjamas or a nightgown that allows you to make a knot at the waist, on the opposite side of the stye; if, for example, if the stye is on the right eye make the knot on the left side.
Although it seems a strange ritual, this simply helps you sleep on the diseased eye, as the knot bothers you you will turn in bed. This trick accelerates the disappearance of the stye thanks to the heat input that you give while you sleep. In 2 nights the stye may disappear.
It is important that you do not use make-up while you have a stye, since you can aggravate the infection and contaminate your cosmetics. Although there is no exact answer, see our article how long do styes last to know for how long to take these measures.
Should you have tried to cure styes with homemade remedies but it persists and causes severe pain go to a specialist doctor. Recurring styes should be examined by a specialist, as they may be symptom of some other lesion such as low defenses or, if they haven't been treated properly, they can have grave consequences.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to How To Cure A Stye, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.
- Dry your eyes with disposable towels to avoid contaminating the towels from home.
- Visit your doctor if the stye persists or are frequent