Eye Sty Care

Nobody likes to wake up to an annoying swollen eyelid. A sty can cause temporary issues with vision, pain, and swelling. These symptoms can all be hindering to your everyday life, especially with young children who will be spending the majority of their days in classrooms in the coming weeks.

An eye sty is a bacterial infection of the oil glands in the eyelids. They form an inflamed lump in the infected gland that can either point inward or outward. Many times, a sty can appear on both eyes, causing much discomfort for those infected. They can form due to a number of reasons:

· Stress

· Poor facial hygiene

· Contaminated cosmetics

· Poor removal of makeup

· Hormonal changes

· Inflammatory eyelid diseases

An eye sty will typically go away after a few days. But, if you want to try to speed up the process, try pressing a warm wet rag to the inflamed area for 10-15 minutes 4 to 6 times a day. The heat will help drain the swollen gland and quicken the healing process. If you can, refrain from wearing contact lenses while treating a sty. Contact lenses can add to the tenderness of the area, which will add more pain. If it becomes too painful, try using an over the counter pain medication. This will temporarily hold you over until the sty begins to drain away on its own. Do not try putting pressure on, or squeezing the area to attempt to drain it. This will make it worse and more difficult to heal. If a sty continues to bother for more than a few weeks, come see one of our family doctors for more details on what to do next!

We hope that we have provided some insight on the pesky annoyance that is a sty. Our information is always meant to benefit your family’s wellness, so come back for more in the coming days. Enjoy the beginning of your week!