Do you have a red painful bump near your eye? You may have a stye.
The edge of the eyelid contains many oil glands responsible for protecting the eye and lashes. When bacteria invade these glands, they can become infected and plugged. It’s like a pimple on the eyelid.
Doctors call a stye a hordeolum when they are tender; when they become less tender they are called a chalazion. Stye is also sometimes spelled sty.
What does a stye feel and look like?
In the beginning a stye can be red, tender, painful, and swollen. Later a pimple can develop. Sometimes the bump is small and easily seen, but sometimes the entire eyelid swells. They grow quickly.
You may notice your eye watering, and you may notice an increase in light sensitivity. Hoever, the stye should not affect your vision.
What is a stye?
Everybody carries a healthy community of bacteria on their skin; they cause no problems as long as they remain there. When they begin to grow inside an oil gland, however, the gland becomes infected and plugged.
How to treat a stye
Most styes heal without medical treatment.
Hot compresses will speed the process by bringing heat and blood to the stye.
You can get hot compress masks, called Tranquileyes at Myoptic for a comfortable and convenient sustained heat source.
To make a hot compress, soak a washcloth in hot water (but not scalding) and lay it on your eye for 10 to 15 minutes. It’s helpful to have 2 washcloths handy, which you can alternate as one cools. Do this 3 to 4 times a day.
Alternately, you can use a still-hot hard-boiled egg, or a baked potato. These have the added advantage of providing dinner for you when you are done Ć¢ā¬ā remember to wash them carefully first!
-Dr. Oliver Kuhn-Wilken
Myoptic Optometry
That part at the end about the “added advantage” had me cracking up