St Paul’s Eye Clinic
Royal Liverpool University Hospital
Royal Liverpool University Hospital
Fairfield Independent
Hospital
Hospital
Stye is a common and often painful lump that forms on the eyelid. It is usually caused by an illness with bacteria.
Stye is a common and often painful lump that forms on the eyelid. It is usually caused by an illness with bacteria. Styes can be internal or external. It usually includes the hair cells of the eyelashes or the glands of Zeis and forms on the outside part of the eyelid. This is different from an internal stye, which happens inside the eyelid and affects the meibomian glands. These glands make oils that are part of the tear film. A stye is usually caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, which lives on the skin.
They can cause an infection that leads to the formation of a stye if they get into the oil glands or hair follicles in the eyes. A stye is more likely to happen if you don't clean your eyelids properly, touch your eyes with dirty hands, use makeup that has been tainted, or have a skin disease like blepharitis or rosacea.
It's usually easy to tell if someone has a stye by their symptoms. One of them is a painful, red, and swollen lump on the eyelid that looks like a pimple sometimes. People with this lump may also feel pain, be sensitive to light, have a feeling of grit in their eyes, and cry more. The spot may also feel warm when you touch it. If you have an internal stye, the lump might not be as obvious, but it can still be very painful. Most sores get worse very quickly, and they can make the whole eyelid swell up. Sometimes, a stye will break open and let out pus, which will often ease the pain and pressure. Most of the time, styes are safe and go away on their own, but they can sometimes turn into more dangerous diseases if they are not treated properly.
An eye care worker will usually just look at the damaged eyelid to figure out if someone has a stye. Most of the time, the diagnosis is easy to make based on how the lump looks and what symptoms are present. Usually, you don't need any more tests unless the stye doesn't go away or comes back, or if you are worried about a more serious underlying problem. If the sore doesn't get better after the first treatment, it may need to be checked out more to make sure it's not something else, like a chalazion (a long-lasting inflammation of the meibomian gland), a cyst, or a tumour.
When someone has a stye, the main goals of treatment are to ease their symptoms and help the infection drain naturally. Application of warm cloths to the affected eyelid several times a day is the best first treatment. The stye becomes softer, the swelling goes down, and draining starts. It is very important to keep the eyelid clean. Washing the area gently with baby shampoo or gentle soap can help stop an infection from getting worse. You can deal with pain by taking over-the-counter pain killers. Sometimes, an antibiotic cream or eye drops are given to treat the bacterial condition.
Do not try to squeeze or cut a stye because this can spread the infection and make the situation worse. A healthcare worker may need to do a small surgery to drain a stye if it doesn't go away, gets bigger, or doesn't respond to home remedies. People who get styes often may need to treat underlying problems like blepharitis, keep their eyelids clean, and maybe even use antibiotics to keep them from getting them again.
Most styes will heal without any problems if you take the right care of them, but keeping your eyes healthy and practicing good hygiene can help stop this from happening again.
