Cures for a Stye in the Eye

A stye is a bacterial infection located around the eyelash or glands of the eye. A stye normally looks like a small bump and can appear to be a boil or even look like a pimple. Most styes last for only a few days and go away on their own and are relatively harmless. There are different reasons that styes can occur including hormonal changes, stress, poor hygiene and inflammatory diseases of the eye.

Stye Symptoms

• Some of the symptoms that accompany a stye are pain and redness accompanied by swelling and discomfort. There are a few ways that people can get rid of styes and the most common way is with a warm compress. An individual should heat a towel with warm water and apply it to the stye three to four times per day. This will cause the stye to come to a head and eventually drain.

Home Remedies and Stye Prevention

• Several home remedies help people get rid of styes. One remedy is the use of a gold ring. Rubbing pure gold on the stye has been one method that has worked for many. Another home remedy is the use of a tea bag. Some individuals will substitute the warm towel for a teabag and use that to treat the stye.

  People can do certain things to prevent future styes. Women who get styes should throw way any eye makeup used during the occurrence of a stye. It is very likely that bacteria has spread to the makeup and can cause reinfection. Contact lenses should not be worn, and sometimes an eye doctor may recommend new contact lenses to prevent the spread or reinfection.

Styes and Antibiotics

• Styes that are particularly troublesome may need antibiotics to treat the infection associated with a stye. Sometimes an antibiotic eye ointment is used get rid of a stubborn stye that will not go away on its own. According the Mayo Clinic, if a stye is not responding to self care and is interfering with a person's vision, an individual should consider consulting a doctor.

  If home remedies fail, a person can always get a surgical procedure done to eliminate the stye but surgical procedures should always be a last resort. The good news is that styes are harmless and are simply caused by bacteria. No other symptoms will accompany the stye except for a disfigurement of the eye.