Want to know how to get rid of a stye overnight? Are styes contagious? Can I stop them from happening again? In this article, I am going to cover things you can do to help prevent styes and at the end I’ll give you my tip on how to keep styes from coming back. So let’s talk about how to get rid of this pimple on eyelid that can sometimes not look pleasant. For a quick spoiler alert, stye popping isn’t a good idea.
Stye Shortcut
For those that don’t want to hear the Eye Doctor talk for the next 10 minutes here is the shortcut version without the medical jargon.
- Use Bruder Mask
- Take De3 Omega Vitamins
- Use Ocusoft Lid Wipes
The mask will help it go away quickly. The eye vitamins and lid wipes will help keep it away. Don’t go cheap and deviate from these products for cheaper ones. The most expensive product is one that doesn’t work and these work.
What is a stye?
In order to cover all of the needed ground and to explain why we keep getting styes, I have to first talk about what a stye is. So, we have about 30 oil glands in our upper and lower eye lid. When one of these glands gets clogged the problem can start. The Clogged oil gland can get infected with bacteria and pus builds up and voila you have a stye or external hordeolum. Now if this clog and infection is deeper in the eyelid it is called an internal hordeolum, but if it is more on the surface than it is called an external hordeolum. Sometimes people talk about these as being a stye inside eyelid or stye under eyelid.
How long does a stye typically last?
So, how long does a stye last. Most are gone in about a week, but some stubborn ones can hang on for several months to even a year. The quicker we get the proper treatment started the more likely they are to be gone quicker and not need antibiotics, or surgery.
What causes styes?
So, if a stye is a clogged up oil gland, then how did it get clogged? Sometimes not getting all of your makeup removed from the area can cause the glands to get clogged up. Now the makeup remover is not the problem typically. However, sometimes an oil based make up remover can leave some of the glands clogged. So, remember to get all of your make up and the remover off of your eyelids. Some eye diseases like blepharitis, dry eyes, or ocular rosacea can cause styes as well. However, the most common cause of a stye is just from touching your eyelid with dirty hands. This is why I see more styes around allergy season, dry eye season, and in kids.
Are styes contagious to others?
Eye styes are not contagious just like a bacterial infection on your arm is not contagious and pimples are not contagious. It can sometimes appear as though a stye is contagious though because we may have one today. Then no styes for a few days. Then have 3 or 4 in a week. What typically happens is the stye pops up and irritates the eye a little. We rub the eye, which again is the number one cause of a stye, and clog the gland next to the previously logged gland. Then the cycle repeats. So, are styes contagious to others? No This means you can not get a stye from using someone else’s makeup. I still discourage sharing makeup because there are other things that can be passed along through the eye makeup. Such as pink eye, Demodex, and lice.
Are styes allergy related?
While styes aren’t directly related to allergies they are in a non direct way. Allergies make the eyes itch and when our eyes itch we tend to want to rub them, and touching our eyes with dirty hands is the number one cause of a stye. So, I do see more styes during allergy season. However, that is just because our eyes are being touched more often during that time.
How do we treat styes?
The first line is warm compresses. I would make sure it is clean each time because while styes are not contagious it is still good practice. You can take a warm wash cloth and heat it up in the microwave, but that typically only helps about 10% of the time. However, a Bruder mask (links to Amazon) works better than the warm wash cloth, but either way you will want to hold it over your eyes for about 10 minutes and do this 2-3 times a day for a couple days. If the stye is not improving after a couple days you would want to contact your local eye doctor to get it fixed. Sometimes the eye Doctor will drain it themselves like I have done above for this patient in a Dr. Pimple Popper type fashion. The doctor may also prescribe an antibiotic or perform some other surgical procedure.
Is there an over-the-counter solution?
I get asked regularly about stye eye ointment. Are there any over the counter sold in stores? Now, some stores sell stye removal drops, ointments, or cremes. Typically these things don’t really do much help, but trick us quite a bit into thinking that they will help. The way they trick us is they will say to use this for 3-4 days to get rid of a stye. Well, if it takes 2 days before you go and buy something and most are gone in about a week. Then, after using the treatment for 4 days you are at 6 days which is right at a week. Thus, most people are tricked into thinking it fixed the problem and spread the misinformation. The only thing from a store that is beneficial for a stye is a wash cloth or Bruder mask (links to Amazon).
Is Neosporin or a triple antibiotic helpful?
On the surface Neosporin or a triple antibiotic sounds like it would be very helpful. I mean, I identified early on that a stye is a bacterial infection and Neosporin or triple antibiotics are well antibiotics. The problem here is the oiliness of the medication. While this may kill off the bacteria in the area this oil is going to clog other glands in the area and put them at risk of becoming infected in the days after stopping the triple antibiotic. So, while this sounds and looks good on paper it really isn’t helpful. The stye treatment antibiotic I use is an oral antibiotic. You need the antibiotic for a stye to be able to get into the tissue better than a topical can.
Can styes be prevented?
There is no sure fire way to keep someone from getting a stye. However, proper eyelid hygiene is an easy first line of defense. You could do that with a good facial wipe like this one made by Ocusoft. The next thing you could do is use a Bruder mask on a nightly basis to keep the oil melted. This allows the oil to be flow more easily and less likely to get clogged up. However, the absolute best thing to do is to get the DE3 Omega vitamins. Now not all omega vitamins are made the same and these are the exact ones that I recommend my patients get every day.
Do stye home remedies work?
I have heard quite a few stye home remedies over my career. Some centered around the questions are styes contagious, but most are about the treatment options. Again these treatment options typically do not work, but I did want to talk about rubbing gold ring on stye. The concept here was that if you took your wedding ring off. Then, rubbed it on the stye it would help get rid of the stye. Now before I totally discount this idea. I need to mention that most metals have a natural antibacterial and antiviral property. Having acknowledged that aspect of the gold ring stye treatment it is still not going to be nearly as beneficial as the route I am going to mention next.
How to get rid of a stye quickly
The best way to get rid of styes quickly is to use a Bruder mask for about 15 minutes. Then, take a hot shower and wash your hands and face with an antibacterial soap like dial. Make sure to try and not get the soap in your eyes because well it burns as everyone knows. This will hopefully rid the stye in 1-2 days. Not the 6-7 days it typically takes for them to resolve. And if it is a really bad one. Make sure to seek out an Eye care professional. The quicker we can get treatment started on these typically the less likely they are to turn into a chalazion. Which while not a major concern a chalazion can still be annoying.
Chalazion
A chalazion is what can happen if the stye decides to wall itself off. This kills the bacterial infection that is causing the stye. However, it does tend to leave a little bump. There are a few chalazion treatments out there.
Chalazion treatments
- surgical curettage (cutting the bump out)
- steroid injection into the chalazion
- time
Conclusion
Again, the three things to keep from getting more styes are; lid hygiene with Ocusoft wipes, De 3 Omega vitamins, and a Bruder mask. Thank you for checking out my blog post. As an Amazon Associate I can earn from qualifying purchases if you click on the above link. I hope this helps you get rid of your stye quickly overnight, keeps the styes away, and puts your mind at ease to know that styes are not contagious.
Better watch out..better not cry, you might just get a sty in your eye! I have sung this to my son every Christmas for 11 years….poor kid lol. Anyway, my dad gets a sty way to often. I will most definitely be forwarding this information on to him! Thanks for the great info! Kathleen