So you have an stye and are looking for the best form of eye stye treatment. First of all, don't fret. Eye styes can seem scary at first but I assure you that they are not only common, but are often pretty easy to deal with if you know what to do. Therefore I have made the 5 golden rules for eye stye treatment. With this advice you can not only treat your eye styes, but dramatically shorten their healing time and even prevent them from occurring in the future.
RULE 1: START AT HOME TREATMENT EARLY
Eye styes often start with similar characteristics and clinical signs. If you've had them enough you know what i'm talking about. Often they start with a pinpoint sensation at the stye site and it can even being described by some as a tingling sensation. Sometimes people get headaches as well, while others suffer from eye strain. When you first get the stye, immediately start using warm compresses multiple times a day. This technique works extremely well and can make the difference in how long the stye lasts and how severe it is.
RULE 2: DO NOT TRY TO POP THE STYE
This might seem like common sense for most, but you will be surprised by how many people actually try to pop the stye like a pimple. Its not a pimple people! A stye is an infection of the glands at the base of the eyelid and by popping it, you can actually do more harm then good. The stye can become even more infected and you can even spread the infection to other parts of your body. Using the warm compress will accomplish the same goal of opening the stye up to drain without the trauma induced by popping it.
RULE 3: PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE
Remember your mother always telling you to wash your hands? She wasn't doing this for her own good. Her advice is actually one of the best ways to prevent styes and even other diseases in general. Styes are usually caused by a bacteria that is commonly found on the skin. It can often be spread to the eye on your hands so washing your hands is extremely important. Make sure to wash your hands before and after touching your eye to minimize the transfer of bacteria. These general hygiene practices aren't just limited to hand washing though. Make sure to wash your face with a non-irritating facial wash or scrub. Also, if you wear eye makeup, make sure to thoroughly remove it, as makeup can easily cause styes to form.
RULE 4: USE OVER-THE-COUNTER PRODUCTS IF NEEDED
There are many eye stye treatment products available that are great at soothing the eye, cleansing the eyelids, and disinfecting the stye. Many of these products can be bought over-the-counter and most are fairly inexpensive. Products such as stye ointments or drops are great at providing pain relief due to the stye and also have an antibacterial function. Eyelid scrubs and cleansers are perfect for cleaning around the eye. As always, check the product label for instructions on how to use these products most effectively.
RULE 5: IF THE STYE DOESN'T GO AWAY OR GETS WORSE THEN GET TO A DOCTOR
Sometimes no matter what you do at home, the stye just won't go away or actually starts to get worse. This could be an indication of a worse infection that needs the attention of a doctor. The doctor will most likely prescribe an antibiotic drop or ointment to combat the infection. In serious cases the stye may need to be lanced by an ophthalmologist or even surgically removed. When determining how long to wait until seeing a doctor, there is no strict time table. Instead, let you common sense guide you and always seek professional treatment sooner rather then later. However, it is important to note that these styes can sometimes take a long time (up to a few weeks) to go away completely.
Hopefully the advice above has given you a general guideline of how to go about eye stye treatment. So the next time you have a stye, try to follow the 5 golden rules to make sure that you are doing the proper things for your eye stye treatment.
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