What should you do if you pop a Sty?

Method 1 of 3: Get Immediate Relief

1Clean the stye. Styes are caused by dirt, fecal matter or other debris that infects your sebaceous gland with bacteria. If you wake up in the morning with a stye, the first thing you should do is clean it, to remove the source of the infection.[1]

Dip a cotton ball or swab in warm water and gently cleanse the stye.

Continue cleansing the area several times a day. Be sure your hands and the cotton ball you use to wash the stye are clean, so you don't transmit more dirt to the area.

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2Apply a warm compress. The painful swelling caused by a stye is best treated with warm temperatures. Make a warm compress with a clean towel or piece of fabric dipped in hot water. Hold the compress to your eye for 5 to 10 minutes.

Apply a warm compress 3 or 4 times a day, reheating the water as necessary to keep the compress hot.

The warmth of the compress may cause the stye to release pus. Wipe it away using a clean towel and reapply the warm compress until pus stops coming out.

Once the pus emerges from the stye, the symptoms should abate fairly quickly.

3Use antibacterial cream. Buy an over-the-counter antibacterial cream made for treating styes. Apply a small dab on the stye, taking care not to get it inside your eye. Do not use it more times per day than indicated on the packaging of the cream.

4Try a natural home remedy. Certain natural substances are said to help heal styes and reduce pain and swelling. Try these natural remedies for getting rid of styes:

Use a coriander seed wash. Soak coriander seeds in water for an hour, strain the seeds, and use the water as a wash for your eye. The seeds are said to have properties that reduce the swelling of a stye.

Use a guava leaf compress. This is a common home remedy for reduce pain and swelling caused by styes. Wet guava leaves in warm water and apply them to your eye for 10 minutes.

5Use an over-the-counter painkiller. If your stye is extremely painful, use a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) to make you more comfortable during the first few days. Choose an NSAID containing aspirin or ibuprofen for immediate relief.

Take only the recommended dosage listed on the packaging.

Do not give aspirin to children.

EditMethod 2 of 3: Seek Treatment for Complications

1Go to the doctor if you are in extreme pain. Styes can become extremely painful when they involve infected eyelash follicles, the tiny holes from which your eyelashes grow.[2] If a stye swells up around one of your eyelashes, you may receive one of the following treatments:

The doctor might use tools to remove the eyelash, which should significantly reduce the pain and swelling.[3]

The doctor may insert a needle into the stye to lance it, so that the pus drains out and the stye goes away.

2Seek treatment if your stye doesn't go away after a week. You may have another condition causing your stye to become worse instead of healing.

Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics if you have conjunctivitis, commonly referred to as pinkeye. This condition is usually quickly resolved after antibiotics are administered.

If you have skin conditions like rosacea and dandruff, you might be susceptible to blepharitis, the inflammation of the rims of the eyelids. In this case your doctor will advise you to begin a new hygiene regimen for that area of your eye.[4]

EditMethod 3 of 3: Prevent Styes from Recurring

1Wash your eyelids. If you get styes a lot, your eyes may be particularly sensitive to bacterial infection. Use a clean towel and some gentle shampoo, such as baby shampoo, to scrub dirt and dead skin cells from your eyelids. Rinse well with warm water.[5]

2Wash your hands before touching your face. The most common way to get styes is by transferring bacteria from your hands to your eyes. Wash your hands frequently, particularly after using the bathroom, riding public transportation or eating. Avoid rubbing or touching your eyes.

3Practice good hygiene if you wear contacts. Wearing contacts requires touching your eyes often, so make sure your hands are clean each time you put them in and take them out. The contacts themselves can also transmit bacteria, so be sure to use a cleansing solution to wash them daily.[6]

Don't wear your contacts for longer than you're supposed to. If you have dailies, throw them away every day. If you have monthlies, be sure to change to fresh ones after four weeks have passed.

Don't wear your contacts overnight. Even contacts that are made for safe overnight wear might cause you problems if you are prone to getting styes.

4Use proper eye makeup application. Eye liner and eye shadow applied under the rim of your eyelid can cause styes, especially if you tend to wear a lot of makeup and reapply it throughout the day. Apply makeup above your lash line, and wear no more than necessary.

Don't go to sleep wearing makeup. Use eye makeup remover to clean it off, then splash warm water on your face to rinse off the remover before going to bed.

Change your eye makeup applicators frequently. Brushes, wands and pencils used to apply eye makeup get dirty over time, and you may be transmitting bacteria every time you use them.

Pop Sty