Stye – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
CAUSES:
- Stye is mainly caused due to bacteria known as Staphylococcus which moves from the skin of eyelid to eyelash follicles.
- Chronic conditions of Blepharitis may also lead to stye.
- Other causes include diabetes, dandruff, high serum liquids secreted by Meibomian glands and even due to previous occurrence of styes.
SYMPTOMS:
- Hordeolum is red and painful.
- Watery discharge.
- Sensitivity to light.
- At the same time, a person can have more than one stye.
- They appear similar to that of a pimple filled with pus.

Stye
PREVENTION:
- Good personal hygiene is very essential in the prevention of stye.
- Frequent washing of hands and fingers before touching the eyelids
- To prevent infection, wash eyes every morning so as to remove the excess oil discharge accumulated overnight.
TREATMENT:
- Allow the hordeolum to drain the pus on its own and do not try to squeeze it.
- Antibiotic cream must be applied to the stye if it does not disappear or when it recurs and this condition may be due to an underlying bacterial infection.
HYGIENIC TREATMENT:
- Moisten a washcloth using warm water and apply it on one eyelid by closing the other eye.
- Repeat the same for the other eye, but by using another facecloth.
- Never use the same cloth.
- Apply it for 5minutes per eye for at least 4 times a day to relieve the pain and to drain the pus.
- If the hordeolum is larger in size, the doctor may advice lancing in order to drain the fluid and prevent infection.

Closed eye showing stye
NOTE:
- The infection can be diagnosed based upon the appearance of the skin.
- In general cases, it usually drains its pus and gets cured of its own after few days.
- In peculiar cases they may not heal forming a grainy tissue known as chalazion.
- Chalazion forms when the Meibomian gland in the eyelid gets inflamed and later blocked.
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