Did you wake up this morning with an uncomfortable soreness and a bump on your eyelid?

Does the bump have a little pus spot in the center? Is it sore or painful? Does your eye feel itchy? Do you have a feeling like there might be something in your eye? Is your eyelid crusty? Does your eye feel sensitive to bright light? Do you seem to be tearing up more than normal?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you might have a stye, as those are common symptoms of one. A stye (also called a sty or hordeolum) is a pimple-like red bump that’ll typically form on the outside edge (external stye) or underside (internal stye) of your eyelid.

See, you have a bunch of little oil glands in your eyelids. Styes develop when those glands are clogged by oil buildup, dirt, dead skin, or other debris. Bacteria starts to grow inside the blocked gland, becoming a painful bump in an annoying location.

If the stye doesn’t hurt, it might actually be a chalazion, which is a similar phenomenon that develops from a healed internal stye that is no longer infectious – it’s treated in about the same way as a stye, but takes a bit longer to heal.

Note: Definitely do not pop a stye. I know it might be tempting (especially because styes often look like pimples), but it’ll release pus and give the infection an opportunity to spread – which is bad news.

Styes form when staphylococcal bacteria build up in a clogged oil gland around the base of one of your eyelashes or within your eyelids, and the swollen gland becomes visibly irritated.

Unfortunately, there’s really no instant remedy for styes.

They’re fairly common and aren’t really anything to be worried about – they’ll sometimes go away in about a week if you leave them alone. However, if you want to try and do something to speed along the healing process, here are a few tips.  We are going to heat, cleanse, and coat.

1. Heat Up the Eyelid

Do NOT use a wet washcloth, as it does not retain heat for a long enough time to be effective – don’t squeeze the stye or press too hard, just let the heat rest there or massage the area gently.

It is best to use a warm compress eye mask, such as the MediViz Warm Compress with Removable Cover (easier to wash with a cover).

The warm compress works by drawing the pus and oil up to the surface of your skin to come to a head and dissolve, which allows the stye to drain naturally.  It also heats up the oil inside the glands, which liquifies it, opening up the glands even more.  

You can do this 3 to 4 times a day while you have a stye

2. Cleanse Your Face and Eyelids with Hypochlorous Eyelid Cleanser

Wash your face with a Tea Tree Oil Soap, and follow that with the  Heyedrate Lid and Lash Cleanser. Spray the solution onto a cotton ball and wipe your eyelid back and forth. This will help get rid of any crust you find around your eyelid.  This can also be done four times per day.

The pus inside a stye contains staphylococcal bacteria that could potentially cause other skin breakouts nearby or on others – we all have this bacteria on our skin, but you want to avoid getting it in your own or others’ eyes to prevent infection anyway.

Alternatively, some like pre-moistened eyelid wipes for eyelid cleansing.  We recommend the MediViz Eyelid Wipes.  Again, use up to four times per day while you have an active stye.

3. Rub On Some Ointment

There are over-the-counter stye ointments you can find at your pharmacy. You could grab one of those or use something similar – just make sure the product is intended for use in or around the eye to avoid additional problems.

After using your warm compress and cleansing with a hypochlorous acid eyelid cleanser, pull out the affected eyelid and squeeze about a quarter-inch of ointment inside.  Or you can just apply it to the outside of your eyelid for ease. 

If you need an antibiotic for a particularly bad stye, you'll need to see your eye doctor. If you need healing help, such as an antibiotic, for a particularly bad stye, you'll need to see your eye doctor.  You should also consult a doctor and discontinue use of any ointment if you experience eye pain, changes in vision, continued redness or irritation of the eye, or if the condition worsens or persists for more than 72 hours.

Keep Irritants Away from Your Eyes

Avoid using makeup and wearing contact lenses (use your glasses instead) when you have a stye, because these can delay healing. You want to keep any other possible irritants away from the stye as it heals, too.

In fact, be sure to thoroughly clean your contacts and makeup brushes before using them again (better yet, pull out a new pair of contacts to use or buy a new brush – we never switch out our makeup brushes often enough anyway).

Basically, keep your eyes and hands clean, and don’t get anything near your eye that could aggravate the stye and spread bacteria – it’s best to leave it alone unless you’re actively applying some treatment to it.

Massage Around Your Eye

You can use lid wipes or a warm compress to massage the area near the stye to encourage it to drain. You can just use your hands too, but make sure they’re clean.

When the stye drains, keep the area clean. If it hurts to massage around your stye, stop and try a different treatment tactic.

AGAIN, DO NOT TRY TO POP IT!

Go See a Doctor

If it’s really bothering you and you can’t seem to leave it alone, you can see a doctor to prescribe an antibiotic, get a steroid shot to reduce the swelling and discomfort, or have the doctor professionally drain the stye – especially if it’s particularly large and on the inside of your eyelid, or if it is affecting your vision.

The bottom line is, if it is very painful or if the treatment you’ve tried at home isn’t working, it’s time to see your doctor!

Stye prevention mostly comes down to eyelid hygiene – don’t touch your face or anywhere in or around your eyes without first washing your hands with soap and water. Be sure to fully remove your makeup with an eyelid wipe, and wash your face every night before you go to sleep. Avoid sharing a towel with another person who has a stye.

Getting a stye makes you more likely to get another one later on. You should go a step further and regularly clean your eyelids with Heyedrate Lid and Lash Cleanser if styes are common for you.

If you practice excellent eyelid hygiene and keep getting an abnormally large number of styes anyway, you might want to go see a doctor. The styes could end up being a symptom of an underlying condition – in these cases, you’d have to treat the underlying cause instead of the symptom, or the styes will just keep coming back.