Health and Wellness Review

Six basic facts about styes

Who knew that such a tiny little bump could drive you so crazy? Here’s the basic 411 on those irritating bumps inside your eyelid…

1. A stye is like a pimple in your eyelid – it’s an infection of an oil gland at the base of an eyelash.
2. Styes first make themselves known by redness and tenderness in the eyelid. The stye itself is a red bump that usually grows a white head and bursts within a few days. After the stye bursts, it heals and disappears. The whole thing usually takes about a week.
3. Styes can be caused by exposing your eyelids to bacteria – that means rubbing them with dirty hands, using eye makeup that’s too old, etc.
4. Home treatments can help ease the discomfort of a stye. Try a hot compress or over-the-counter eyedrops or ointments.
5. An internal hordeolum is much like a stye, but it is an infection of an oil gland deeper inside the eyelid. It’s larger than a stye and it lasts longer, but it’s not a serious problem, and treatment is the same as for a stye.
6. A chalzion is not an infection but rather an inflammation of the oil glands within the eyelid. It usually grows over a few weeks to a hard bump, but it isn’t painful. Treatment is only necessary if the chalzion interferes with vision.

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