An eye stye or eye sty is a very common bacterial infection of eyes in which the gland at eyelid become infected and lead to the obstruction of oil producing glands around the eyelashes or eyelids. A red lump like thing appears near the edge of an eyelid which can be visible at outside as well as inside of eyelid. A stye is not at all harmfull for the visoin. This problem can occur to any person with any age.

How are stye caused?

An stye is caused by the blockage of the hair follicles that may become swollen and painful to the touch, leading to the infection in the sebaceous (oil producing) glands in the eyelid. The infection is primarily caused by staphylococcal bacteria. This bacteria is generally present in the nose, but is easily transferred to the eyes. Touching mucus from the nose and then rubbing the eye is one way of transferring staphylococcal bacteria from nose to the eye. Stye can also occur due to conjunctivitis, eye infections and poor health.

Symptoms of Eye Sty

Symptoms may be slight different in some childrens. Some of the common symtoms of eye sty are discussed below:

Swelling of the affected area of eyelid.
Redness at the edge of the eyelid.
Frequent watering from the affected eye.
Sensation like some thing is there in the eye.
Pain over the affected area (localized pain).
Tenderness.
Discomfort when blinking.
Uneasiness in the eye.
Drainage of yellow fluid.
Tearing of the eye.
A pimple or red lump like development at the eyelid.
If the pus drains out of the stye, the lump goes away quite quickly. Otherwise, the swelling may take longer to go down.

Treatment for Eye Stye to get rid of it easily

Styes are usually harmless and don't need to be treated as they go away on their own after some days. In order to prevent further infection, it is recommended that a stye be left to rupture on its own. But, in some cases it becomes very severe and need to be treated by a surgeon. Surgical draining of the pus with the application of antibiotic drops may be required in those cases.

Some of the treatments for the stye may include:

Apply warm compresses on the patients eye for 10 to 15 minutes atleast 3-4 times daily. This will help to relieve the pain.
A grated potato used as a poultice, reduce swelling in inflamed eyes.
Application of antibiotic ointments on the infected eye may be used to fight the infection and stop it from spreading to the other parts of eye.
Take a cup of water. Dissolve 2-3 granules of alum in it. This mixture can be used as an eyewash.
Mix 1 tsp of coriander seeds with a cup of water and then boil it. Use this mixture as a eye wash to be used 3-4 times a day.
Refraining from wearing make-up until the infection heals completely.
Guava leaves, warmed and placed on a warm damp cloth, and then used as a compress will help to reduce the redness, pain and swelling.
Surgical drainage of the stye may also be necessary if the stye is not responding to treatment.

Is Hordeolum (stye) contagious?

Yes, hordeolum is contagious. It gets transferred from one person to another very easily. To prevent them from transferring very good hygiene is necessary with no sharing of towels.

Preventions tips for eye sty

Some of the preventive measures against eye sty are as follows:

Always wash hands properly with soap before touching the eyes.
Don't punture sty yourself as it will spread the infection on other places of your eye also and allow the eye sty to rupture on its own. This will result in proper cure.
Contact users should especially take care of their eye hygiene.
Dont squeeze or rub the stye affected eye.
Wash your face atleat 2-3 times every day, including the eye.