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- While not generally serious, styes - the medical term is hordeolum - are painful and unsightly.
- You can speed up the healing process, as well as reduce the pain, with simple at-home treatments.
Your eyelids are lined with tiny oil ducts that produce sebum, as well as eyelashes sprouting from hair follicles. Occasionally, oil, dead skin cells, or most often, bacteria, clog an eyelid oil duct or follicle. The result is a stye, which is basically an eyelid pimple.
Styes can crop up on upper or lower eyelids, and while most are on the outer edge, there are styes - called internal hordeolums - that develop on the inner surface of the eyelid, as well.Early symptoms generally include tenderness, slight swelling, and redness in the affected area. As inflammation increases, the stye tends to grow into a larger lump, often with a yellowish center. Your entire eyelid might swell, and the redness can be very pronounced.
Along with pain, it's common to experience grittiness or a sensation of "something in the eye," excessive tearing, crustiness or stickiness along the affected eyelid margin, sensitivity to light, and discomfort when blinking. It is not normal for a stye to cause vision changes, such as blurriness.
While styes, left to their own devices, tend to heal on their own within a week or so, you can speed the process up and reduce the pain with simple at-home treatments. However, if the stye persists beyond a week, is extremely painful, interferes with your vision, or the swelling and redness spread beyond your eyelid, it's time for a visit to your eye doctor or general care practitioner.
Here's how to treat a stye:
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