Don’t pop a stye. It can spread the infection. Use a warm compress several times a day, and see a doctor if it doesn’t improve.
Don’t pop it
Popping can spread the infection and cause scarring.
What to do
- Apply a warm compress for 10 minutes, 3 to 4 times a day.
- Wash your eyelid gently.
- Don’t wear contacts or makeup.
Healing
Most styes go away in 1 to 2 weeks.
See a doctor
If it doesn’t improve in 2 weeks, vision changes, or the eyelid swells.
Prevention
Wash your hands and replace eye makeup.
Why popping makes it worse
A stye (hordeolum) is an infected oil gland or eyelash follicle at the eyelid edge. Squeezing can push bacteria deeper, causing preseptal or orbital cellulitis, which can threaten vision and needs antibiotics. Most styes drain on their own within 1 to 2 weeks.
- Apply a warm compress for 10 to 15 minutes, 3 to 4 times daily, to help it drain.
- Wash the eyelid gently with diluted baby shampoo or a lid scrub.
- Skip eye makeup and contact lenses until healed.
- A chalazion is a different, painless blocked gland that can persist for weeks.
When medical care is needed
A doctor may prescribe antibiotic ointment, drain a persistent stye or inject a steroid for a chalazion. Seek care for pain that spreads, vision changes, redness of the whole eyelid or cheek, or fever. People with diabetes or frequent styes may need evaluation of blepharitis or rosacea. Replace eye makeup every three months and never share towels, to lower recurrence.
Why you should not squeeze it
A stye (hordeolum) is an infected oil gland or eyelash follicle on the eyelid, and about 1 in 4 bumps on the lid are chalazia rather than styes. Squeezing can push bacteria deeper into the eyelid, spread infection to surrounding tissue (preseptal cellulitis) and cause scarring. Most styes drain on their own within 1 to 2 weeks when treated with warm compresses for 10 to 15 minutes, three to four times a day. Staphylococcus aureus is the usual cause.
Medical care
See a doctor if the swelling spreads across the eyelid or cheek, vision changes, the eye becomes very painful or red, or the stye lasts longer than two weeks. A clinician may prescribe antibiotic ointment or drain the lesion with a sterile procedure. Do not wear contact lenses or eye makeup while a stye is present, and wash hands before touching the eyes. Discard eye makeup used during the infection to avoid reinfection.
Infection risk and complications
Eyelid skin is thin and drains close to the orbit. Squeezing a stye can lead to preseptal or orbital cellulitis, which causes fever, eyelid swelling and eye movement pain and can threaten vision and brain. Recurrent styes are linked to blepharitis, rosacea and diabetes. Chalazion, a blocked oil gland without infection, appears as a painless lump lasting weeks.
Treatment details
Warm compresses reduce swelling and open the gland. Lid scrubs with diluted baby shampoo or commercial wipes help. Antibiotic ointments are used for infection. A doctor can inject steroids into a chalazion or drain it in about 10 minutes under local anesthesia. Contact lens wearers should switch to glasses until healed.
Based on data from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Mayo Clinic
