Eye Stye

7 Things to Know About an Eye Stye

A stye (medical term: hordeolum) develops when an oil gland at the edge of an eyelid becomes infected. Resembling a pimple on the eyelid, a stye can grow on the inside or outside of the lid.

Here are seven things to know about eye styes:

1. The first signs are pain, redness, swelling and tenderness.

After symptoms appear, a small pimple will develop in the affected area. Usually this is accompanied by swollen eyes. Sometimes just the immediate area is swollen; at other times, the entire eyelid swells.

2. Styes typically don't cause vision problems.

Your ability to see well at either near or distance shouldn't be affected by a stye.

3. A stye is caused by staphlococcal bacteria.

This bacterium is found in the nose and is transferred easily to the eye when you rub your nose, then your eye.

Styes are not normally harmful to vision and generally heal within a few days.

4. Styes are contagious, but...

Pretty much everyone has this stye-causing bacteria in their body. We all, at any age, have the potential to develop a stye without outside contamination.

Still, if you have a stye, you don't want the bacteria within to come into contact with someone else's eye. This might indeed cause them to develop a stye or other infection as well. So keep your eyes and hands clean, and don't share pillowcases, bedsheets, washcloths or towels with others.

5. Most styes heal on their own within a few days.

You can encourage this process by applying hot compresses for 10 to 15 minutes, three or four times a day, over the course of several days.

This will relieve the pain and bring the stye to a head, much like a pimple. In most cases, the stye will then rupture, drain and heal without further intervention.

6. Never "pop" a stye.

You shouldn't pop a style like you would a pimple. Allow the stye to rupture on its own.

A stye that forms inside the eyelid (called an internal hordeolum) might not rupture and heal on its own. Because this type of stye can be more serious, your eye doctor may need to open and drain it.

If you have frequent styes, your eye doctor may want to prescribe an antibiotic ointment to prevent a recurrence. He or she also might recommend using pre-moistened eyelid cleaning pads for daily lid hygiene, to reduce the risk of styes and blepharitis.

7. Other eye issues can accompany styes.

With a stye, you may notice frequent watering in the affected eye, increased light sensitivity and a feeling like something is in your eye (eye doctors call this a "foreign body sensation").

Chalazia: Bumps That Aren't Styes

Often mistaken for a stye, a chalazion (shah-LAY-zee-on or kah-LAY-zee-on) is an enlarged, blocked oil gland in the eyelid. A chalazion mimics a stye for the first few days, then turns into a painless hard, round bump later on.

Most chalazia develop farther from the eyelid edge than styes.

Although the same treatment used for a stye speeds the healing of a chalazion, the bump may linger for one to several months. If the chalazion remains after several months, your eye doctor may drain it or inject a steroid to facilitate healing.

Other Common Eyelid Bumps

Milia. Also called "milk spots" or "oil seeds," milia are tiny white cysts, usually appearing on the outer skin layer (epidermis) of the eyelid and around the eyes and nose. They occur when dead skin cells don't slough off normally and are trapped at the base of a sweat gland or hair follicle, forming a raised "pinhead" bump that looks similar to a whitehead.

Milia are most common in newborns, but adults also can be affected. In babies, milia tend to clear up on their own over a week or two, but most adults will require medical treatment. 

The preferred method of removing a bothersome milial cyst is by a simple surgical excision (no stitch is needed) by your dermatologist. 

Xanthelasma. A subtype of xanthoma (zan-THOE-mah), this skin condition is characterized by yellowish bumps (plaques) under the skin, occurring on or around the eyelids. 

Xanthelasma (zan-thah-LAZ-mah) generally appear as disc-like lesions with a flat surface and well-defined borders, ranging in size from several millimeters up to three inches in severe cases. 

They are caused by a build-up of certain fats, namely cholesterol, under the surface of the skin and often are attributed to elevated lipid levels in the blood stream such as high cholesterol. The growth is non-cancerous, but elevated blood lipids could increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and should be investigated further by your doctor. 

Xanthelasma usually is non-symptomatic, but can be surgically removed by your doctor for cosmetic purposes.

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