Styes are not only bothering and unsightly, but they can also cause pain and discomfort. Anyone can get them, even if you are careful with your eyes. Luckily, they tend to go away on their own after a few days with proper home treatment. However, you may need to get in touch with an eye care specialist if your stye does not seem to improve.
A local optometrist shares what causes styes and how they can be treated.
What Causes Styes to Form?
When the oil glands underneath your lashes get clogged with dead skin cells and other debris, bacterial infection can occur, and a stye may develop. A stye is a small, swollen lump that forms on the outer edge of the eyelid. Inside a stye are pus and inflammatory cells that form when a clogged gland becomes infected. This bump can be painful and tender to the touch.
There are two types of stye, which are external and internal. The more common external stye starts to grow in an eyelash follicle, and you’ll find them on the outer edge of your eyelid. An internal stye develops in an oil gland within the eyelid tissue. They push on your eye as they grow bigger, making them more painful than external styes. If your stye is causing you significant discomfort, it’s best to schedule an appointment with your eye doctor.
How Are They Treated?
Keep in mind that squeezing or popping a stye is never a good idea. Doing so can cause infection to spread to your eyelid. Usually, styes disappear after around a week, but an eye care specialist may prescribe a topical antibiotic if they are not healing.
The usual home remedy for stye is a warm compress. Soak a washcloth in hot water, making sure that you can handle its warmth without burning your skin. A warm compress is helpful because it can aid in liquifying the hardened material in a stye, which allows it to drain. In external styes, it can draw the pus to the surface where it can come to a head prior to bursting. On the other hand, it can create encourage the draining of pus and debris in internal styes.
Let Six One Six Vision Center help with your vision and eye care needs. We offer quality eyeglasses, contact lenses, and more. Call us at (208) 514-1858 or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment. We help patients in Meridian and Eagle, Idaho.
