How would you treat a stye in the eye lid?
Styes are common, unsightly and painful. I am sorry you are suffering. They are caused by the development of infection in a cyst that forms at the base of an eyelash. The initial inflamed lump may point and eventually discharge pus. Bathing the area in warm dilute salt water helps to hasten the process. Your GP may suggest antibiotics either orally or as ointment or drops into the eye. There can be a problem with this treatment, as the infection may settle leaving a visible lump (a meibomian cyst), that may reinfect or just remain as an unsightly lump. For this reason sometimes antibiotics may not be used. If, following an infection or if a cyst forms without infection, it is possible for an opthalmic specialist to remove it under local anaesthetic. I hope the stye settles without too much problem.
A stye is an infection of the eye lash follicle. It is like a spot with the eyelash coming out from the middle of it. If you put a warm compress on it, for example a warm, wet face cloth, pull out the affected eyelash with tweezers and massage the stye, you may find it will “burst” and clear up quicker. Chloramphenicol eye drops can then be put in. These are antibiotics.
