How to Get Rid of a Stye –The Right Way
Updated: Oct. 18, 2018
Be sure to follow these directions.
Start using warm compresses
The first tip for how to get rid of a stye is to start treatment the second you feel a stye coming on—tenderness and a painful swollen lump along your eyelid are the first indications. “Start warm compresses if you think you may have a stye,” says optometrist Randy McLaughlin, OD, at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “You should use warm compresses as hot as the eyelid can stand for five to ten minutes at a time, four times a day.” (Here’s what your eyes can tell you about your health.)
Toss out your eye makeup
Unfortunately, if you’ve used your mascara or eyeliner in the days leading up to the stye, it’s probably time to toss that item and pick up a new one. Your old eye makeup may be contaminated with the same staph bacteria that caused the stye to form.
Here’s the truth about makeup expiration dates – and exactly when you need to replace each product.
Keep your eyelid clean
Cleaning your eyelid regularly can help reduce the amount of bacteria and help speed healing, according to McLaughlin. He suggests cleaning the affected areas with a Q-tip and a small amount of baby shampoo, which won’t irritate your eyes. A lot of gross things can happen if you don’t wash your makeup tools often enough!
Don’t wear your contacts
For the duration of the stye, you should switch back to your eyeglasses until the eyelid heals. And Robert Melendez, MD, of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, recommends thoroughly cleaning your lenses and lens case or, ideally, switching to new lenses to prevent another infection. Here are some things worth knowing before you purchase contact lenses online.
Just say no to “popping”
Even if a stye looks like a pimple, it can be all too tempting to squeeze the pus out of it. But that’s definitely not how to get rid of a stye—and it could lead to complications, increasing the time it takes to heal and causing a secondary skin infection that could require prescription antibiotics to clear up. Experts recommend sticking with the hot compresses and letting them work their magic. These are the 10 things doctors secretly wish they could tell you.
Take over-the-counter meds for the pain
They won’t help your stye heal faster, but taking an over-the-counter pain reliever could help make the time it takes to heal a whole lot less irritating for you. (Here’s 11 things doctor can tell just by looking at you.)
See a doctor if it doesn’t get better
If your stye doesn’t improve after a few days of following the compress-and-cleaning method, then it’s time to consult a doctor for more advice on how to get rid of a stye. “The biggest mistake people make is waiting too long to seek treatment via an eye-care professional,” McLaughlin says. Learn the best fix for dry, irritated eyes.
Avoid behaviours that make a stye more likely
The best advice for how to get rid of a stye is not to get one in the first place. And that means not only keeping the area around your eyes clean, but also thoroughly cleaning your hands, contact lenses, and anything else that touches your eye. Be sure to swap out your eye makeup regularly—and not share with others; finally, be sure to wash away your eye makeup thoroughly every night. Next, discover how constant screen time is destroying your eye health.
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