How To Remove a Sty from your Eyelid

A sty is small pimple which arises on the eyelid. It is caused by the infection of the sebaceous glands on the lids of the eyes. These infections generally are caused by the presence of a staphylococcus bacteria.

When a sty begins to form, you will experience irritation in the infected eye. People tend to believe that a particle has "gotten in the eye". Over the course of several hours and probably after trying to wash your eye out a couple of times, you will begin to realize that there is something else at work with your eye.

Do not worry; sties usually last a week or less. If you wash your eye regularly with a damp, warm washcloth, the sty will go away of its own course. If a sty persists beyond a week and shows no sign of going away, then you should consult your family doctor or a dermatologist.

Of course, there are ways to get rid of the sty quicker than your body will on its own. Here are a tips to treating a sty on your eye.

What Not to Do

1. Do not squeeze the puss out of the sty.

This will only infect the sty in question, and could lead to the spread of the infection.

2. Do no poke your sty with a needle.

Even if you use a clean needle treated with alcohol, when the pus runs, it will cause the staphylococcus bacteria to spread. Using a needle or squeezing the pimple may well lead to new sties.

The pus is a collection of your body's living and dead white blood cells, which are what fight off infections like staph bacteria. If you release this pus before your white blood cells kill all of the bacteria, the infection might spread.

3. Rubbing your eyes will not help.

Rinse or wash your eyes if it is irritating you. Also, women should discontinue wearing eye makeup if they have a sty. Keeping gunk on your eye lid will only help maintain the infection.

4. Do not put ointments like polysporin on the sty.

Though I have mistakenly done this in the past and did not have any side effects, these ointments explicitly state not to put them in your eye. Placing them on the eyelid is likely to result in ointment getting in your eye.

What to Do

5. Soak a tea bag in warm water (not hot water) and hold it on the sty.

Continue to do this for ten minutes, though discontinue if major discomfort occurs. Do not press the tea bag against your eye.

This should help bring the puss to a head sooner, causing the puss to drain sooner. The tea bag method may halve the time you have a sty.

Tannic acid inside of tea kills the bacteria inside the sty. This is why the tea bag method works so well.

6. Wash your infected eye with a (warm) wet washcloth several times a day.

If you notice that the puss is gone from your sty, wash your eye immediately. This will help get rid of the puss that is carrying the bacteria.

This will cause the puss to come to a head sooner, therefore draining sooner. Instead of having a sty for a week or more, you will have it for half the time. The worst days will only be one or two.

Tips for Preventing Sties

7. If you want to prevent sties, you should wash your eyes twice daily.

Also, take vitamins which boost your immune system. This will help your body fight off minor staph infections before they take hold in your body.