A bacterial infection can cause a stye in an oil gland or hair follicle on your eyelid. These glands and follicles become clogged with dead skin cells and other debris. Sometimes, bacteria get trapped inside and cause an infection. This results in the formation of a swollen, painful lump known as a stye, and here we go into full detail about what causes a stye.
Table of Contents
What is a Stye?
A stye is a red lump on the outer edge of your eyelid. When a blocked gland or follicle becomes infected it becomes filled with pus and inflammatory cells. It is soft to the touch and very painful.
Types Of STYE
A Stye can be on the outside (external) or inside (internal) of your eyelids.
- External Styes:- More common than internal styles, most external styles begin in the hair follicle. Occasionally, they start in an oil (sebaceous) gland. They are located on the outer edge of your eyelid.
- Internal Styes:- Most of these start in the oil (Meibomian) gland inside the tissue of your eyelids (Meibomian gland). As they grow they are against your eye, so they are more painful than external styles.
Like a pimple, a head infection often causes pus. This creates a beige or yellow spot over the stye.
Other symptoms of a stye include:
- eyelid swelling
- yellowish discharge
- sensitivity to light (photophobia)
- feeling like there’s something in the eye
- a gritty feeling in the eye
- watery eye
- a crust that forms on the edge of the eyelid
Touching or rubbing the eyes facts is the most common way to transfer bacteria. Some factors that increase the risk of bacteria entering the eye include:
- Have itchy eyes from hay fever or allergies
- Inflammation of your eyelids (blepharitis)
- Use mascara or eyeliner
- Leave the makeup at night
- Skin conditions, such as rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis
- Certain medical conditions such as diabetes
- Anything that puts you at risk for things like not getting enough sleep
Eye infections are often caused by improper care or the use of contact lenses. Behaviors that increase the risk of contact lens-related infections include:
- improperly cleaned contacts
- touch contacts before washing your hands
- wearing contacts while sleeping
- reuse of disposable contacts
- after the contacts have expired
The risk of fennel increases if you have eaten it before. Barley can recur even after healing.
What you can do to prevent stye
Some ways you can reduce your risk of getting a stye to include:
- Avoid touching or rubbing your eyes.
- Take medication to relieve itching from hay fever or allergies.
- Treatment of blepharitis, rosacea, and seborrheic dermatitis.
- Keep contacts clean and disinfected.
- Wash your hands before touching contacts.
- Do not reuse disposable contacts.
- Wash your hands with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Some precautions to take while you have a stye include:
- Wash your hands often.
- Avoid wearing mascara or eyeliner.
- Discard all old makeup.
- Do not wear contact lenses.
Styes are not contagious, but the bacteria is transferred through infected makeup. You should not let anyone else use your makeup, especially mascara and eyeliner.
- MAKEUP SAFETY
Replace makeup regularly according to the following general guidelines:
- Mascara is used daily, every three months
- Use mascara occasionally every six months
- Liquid eyeliner, every three months
- A hard eye pencil every two to three years
How is a stye treated?
Never stage or try to pop. This can spread the infection to the rest of your eyelids.
Most stye goes away on their own in about a week. Topical antibiotics can be used if the stye does not heal.
- A warm compress is a basic home remedy for a stye. You can make one by soaking a washcloth in warm water until it is hot enough to tolerate without burning your skin.
A warm compress can:
- Help liquefy hard material in the sty, allowing it to drain
- With an external stye, pull the surface of the pus to reach the scalp before it bursts.
- The glandular opening provides a drainage route for pus and debris, especially in the internal stylo.
Massaging the stye during or after a warm compress breaks down the material in the stye so it goes away better. Use your clean fingertips to move in a circular pattern.
A gentle shampoo or mild soap can be used on a cotton swab to remove drainage and crusting. There may be a small amount of blood in the drainage, which is normal. If the bleeding is heavy, contact your doctor immediately.
If your stye persists despite warm compresses and topical antibiotics, your doctor may perform an incision and drainage. The procedure is done in the doctor’s office.
After numbing your eyelid, the doctor will make a small incision to remove pus and debris. The removed material is usually examined under a microscope to confirm that it is not a rare condition called sebaceous carcinoma.
Sometimes the stye doesn’t heal completely and your body closes the walls to contain the inflammation. It looks like a style but is not tender or painful. Unlike a stye, it is caused by inflammation rather than infection.
Conclusion
Stye develops when a blocked gland or hair follicle at the edge of your hair becomes infected. They are more common in people who rub their eyes frequently or don’t clean their contacts properly.
Styes can be very painful, but they usually go away on their own. Warm compresses help them drain and heal more quickly.
A stye that does not improve within a few days causes vision problems, or bleeds profusely should be evaluated by your doctor.
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