How to Treat a Stye With Home Remedies

A stye is a common inflammation of the eyelid that occurs when bacteria block the glands of the lid, causing redness, pain and swelling. Styes usually don't harm the eye, but they can recur and cause the patient discomfort with every blink. Before you call your eye doctor, try some simple home remedies.

Things You'll Need

• Black teabags
• Parsley
• Acacia leaves
• Roasted bancha leaves
• Castor oil
• Dandelion tea
• 18 karat gold

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Instructions

• 1

  Apply a very warm compress to the stye two times a day. You can leave the tap running when the water reaches the ideal temperature. Re-warm the washcloth several times during a 10-minute treatment.

• 2

  Place a warm, moist black teabag on the stye. You can use a teabag after preparing hot tea to drink, but you must allow the tea bag to cool enough to feel comfortable on the wrist to prevent burns. Leave the tea bag on the eye a few minutes after it cools. The tannic acids help shrink the stye.

• 3

  Create a herbal solution to increase the efficacy of your eye compresses. Boil parsley, acacia leaves or roasted bancha leaves for 10 minutes. Dip a clean washcloth in the solution and apply to the stye. Discard the solution after each treatment.

• 4

  Dip a fresh cotton swab in some castor oil and apply it to the stye twice a day. You can do this after applying a warm compress, which opens the pores of the eyelid.

• 5

  Complement your topical stye treatment with dandelion tea. Drink dandelion tea with each meal to kill the bacteria responsible for styes.

• 6

  Put a piece of gold jewelry on the stye. The gold must be 18 karats or greater. Use a smooth piece of jewelry with a large surface area, like a wedding band.