Sign up
Log in
EspañolWhat causes a stye? Diagnosis, prevention, and treatment
Overview: What is a stye?
A stye is a common eyelid problem in which a bump forms near the eyelashes or inside the eyelid. Sometimes it’s a swollen red bump, but often it’s filled with pus. It’s very similar to a pimple in both what causes it and its appearance. Styes begin when eyelid oil glands get blocked, which provokes an overgrowth of bacteria. Depending on the location of the stye, it’s either an external stye visible at the base of the eyelashes or an internal stye, which is only visible when the eyelid is pulled back.
A chalazion, often confused with a stye, is a bump that usually develops farther back on the eyelid due to a clogged oil gland. While styes are temporary, usually lasting only up to one or two weeks, a chalazion can take weeks or months to get better. Though irritating and uncomfortable, styes are not generally a cause for concern. Most styes can be treated at home with warm compresses and resolve on their own. However, there are situations where medical care is needed.
Key takeaways:
A stye is a common health condition that can affect anyone regardless of age, sex, race, or ethnicity.
The blockage of oil glands in the eyelid and the subsequent overgrowth of bacteria within the oil gland causes a stye.
Risk factors for stye include blepharitis, diabetes, seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff), rosacea, high cholesterol, dry skin, poor hygiene, or the use of contact lenses or eye makeup.
Symptoms of stye include a red, swollen, and sometimes painful bump at the margins of the eyelashes or inside the eye.
Stye is typically self-diagnosable, but may require a doctor’s visit.
Stye generally does not require treatment. It typically resolves without treatment within two weeks.
Treatment of stye may include warm compresses and keeping the area clean. Treatment for problematic or recurrent styes or chalazions may consist of topical antibiotic ointments or oral antibiotics, incision, drainage, or a corticosteroid injection. Read more about stye treatments here.
Stye is preventable by good hygiene, proper contact lens use, and careful eye makeup use.
Save on prescriptions for stye with a SingleCare prescription discount card.
What causes a stye?
The initial cause of a stye is a blockage of oil glands in the eyelid. As oil backs up behind the blockage, bacteria that typically live in the oil gland cause an infection. Staphylococcus aureus bacteria cause almost all styes. The immune system fights the bacteria, causing the area to swell and fill with pus.
Styes are differentiated based on the oil glands that are affected:
An external hordeolum affects the Zeis and Moll glands, also called the ciliary glands, in the eyelash follicles of both the upper and lower eyelid. The stye causes swelling, redness, pain, and pus build-up at the margin of the eyelid. Most people think of this painful bump or abscess at the edge of the eyelid as a stye.
An internal hordeolum affects the meibomian glands on the inside of the eyelid. These glands provide lubrication for the surface of the eye. When blocked, these glands can also swell, turn red, and yellow with pus, but they can only be seen by pulling the eyelid down or up to view the inside.
A chalazion is an internal hordeolum in which oil leaks into the surrounding eyelid, causing eyelid swelling visible from the outside. A chalazion may not be infected, distinguishing it from a stye.
A chronic chalazion is an oil gland on the inside of the eyelid continually blocked, forming a cyst that feels and looks like a firm nodule visible from the outside. This cyst is usually not infected.
RELATED: What is pus?
Risk factors for stye
Risk factors for stye include several medical conditions and lifestyle habits.
Medical conditions that increase the risk of developing styes include:
Blepharitis (swelling along the edge of the eyelid)
Rosacea
Diabetes
Dandruff
High cholesterol and fats
Dry skin
Habits and lifestyles that contribute to the risk of styes include:
Poor facial hygiene
Poor eye makeup hygiene, such as using old makeup or not regularly washing off eye makeup
Poor contact lens hygiene, such as not washing the hands before removing or inserting contact lenses
Is a stye serious? When to see a doctor
Though common, styes are generally not serious medical problems. Symptoms of a stye usually resolve themselves without treatment within a week or two. In some situations, medical treatment is needed, but an urgent care or emergency room visit isn’t necessary.
See an optometrist, doctor, or another healthcare professional in the following situations:
The stye does not improve or worsens after a week or two
Vision changes
The entire eyelid becomes red and swollen
The skin around the eyelid becomes red and swollen
Crusts or scales form on the eyelids or eye margins
The stye begins to bleed
Some of these are symptoms of other skin conditions or eye conditions.
How is a stye diagnosed?
An optometrist, doctor, or another healthcare professional will diagnose a stye by taking a medical history and looking at the eyelid. In most cases, tests are neither needed nor performed.
The whole process should go rather quickly unless there are other health issues. Be prepared to answer questions like:
When was the stye first noticed?
Has it gotten worse or better?
Have you had styes before?
Have you had eyelid infections?
If the problem is potentially serious, the healthcare professional will probably refer you to an ophthalmologist who specializes in eye problems.
Is stye contagious?
Like a pimple, a stye is partly caused by a bacterial infection. However, bacteria are commonly found on every person’s skin. For the bacteria to evolve into an infection, the oil gland must first get blocked up, allowing oil to gather within the gland. This environment provides the food the bacteria need to explode in growth. So though a stye is an infection, it is not contagious.
That being said, styes are rich in bacteria. It is possible to spread that bacteria to other people. That’s usually not a problem since the same bacteria already colonize other people. Still, always wash your hands after touching a stye.
Is stye curable?
Most styes go away in about a week, sometimes a bit longer. In most cases, they can be treated at home successfully without visiting a healthcare professional.
Home treatments include:
Using warm compresses (no more than 108 degrees) on the affected eyelid four times a day. Ensure the warmth is applied for ten to fifteen minutes straight without removing the compress. Don’t use a warm washcloth or towel. They cool down too fast. Heating pads or a sock filled with warm rice is best.
Use an eyelid wash to reduce the amount of bacteria on the eyelid and around any external stye. Use over-the-counter hypochlorous acid lid wash or just baby shampoo and warm water. For an internal stye, over-the-counter sterile saline solution or eye wash can work.
Gentle massage of the eyelid above the stye can also help by squeezing oil from the affected eyelid gland. Start away from the stye and gently push downwards towards the edge of the eyelid.
If a person visits an optometrist or other healthcare provider, these home remedies may be the only treatment prescribed. In some cases, medical treatment may be needed:
Antibiotics: Sometimes, a healthcare professional may prescribe a topical antibiotic, particularly for an internal stye. Erythromycin is the most commonly prescribed. Oral antibiotics are used if the infection spreads or the stye doesn’t improve with topical antibiotics.
Incision and drainage: in a severe case, an ophthalmologist may cut the stye and drain the pus and bacteria.
Corticosteroid injection: an ophthalmologist may inject a corticosteroid to reduce the swelling of a chalazion
Surgery: a chronic chalazion may have to be surgically removed by an ophthalmologist under local anesthesia
Unfortunately, other than surgical interventions, treatments for styes or chalaziahave not been rigorously researched, so no one is certain how effective they are.
RELATED: Ocusoft Lid Scrub coupons & prices
How to prevent a stye
Like many infections, practicing good hygiene is the best way to prevent a stye from forming. The whole goal is to minimize the bacteria on the eyelid:
Wash your face regularly
Wash your hands regularly, particularly before touching your face around your eyes
Remove eye makeup regularly
Wash the eyelids gently using after removing eye makeup
Throw away old eye makeup
Keep contact lenses clean and sanitized
Do not wear contact lenses for too long before removing them
Wash your hands before removing or inserting contact lenses
Most importantly, a stye usually gets better on its own
Like the occasional pimple, a stye usually gets better on its own. It’s usually nothing to worry about. Warm compresses, cleaning the lid, and massaging the lid can help speed up the process. Sometimes, however, medical help is needed. Though rare, an untreated stye could cause cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin on the eyelid or around the eyelid. Those infections could spread to the tissues around the eyeball. If this happens, the eyelid and sometimes the skin around the eye will swell and grow red. Get medical help if this happens, if the stye gets worse, or if there are other problems like vision changes.
FAQs about stye causes
Are styes caused by stress?
Stress has not been shown to cause or be a risk factor for styes. That said, stress can affect the immune system and raise the risk of infections.
How long does a stye last?
A stye typically lasts for about a week or less. In some people, it may take up to two weeks. Talk to an optometrist, doctor, or another medical professional if a stye lasts longer than two weeks without showing any improvement.
Are styes a symptom of an STD?
A stye is not a sexually-transmitted disease (STD). None of the infectious organisms that cause STDs are associated with styes.
What’s next? Additional resources for people with stye
Test and diagnostics
Eyelid disorders: diagnosis and management, American Family Physician
Stye, StatPearls
What are chalazia and styes, American Academy of Ophthalmology
Treatments
Stye, Cleveland Clinic
Stye, StatPearls
Blepharitis treatments and medications, SingleCare
Scientific studies and clinical trials
Non-surgical interventions for acute internal hordeolum, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
More information on related health conditions
Blepharitis treatments and medications, SingleCare
Eyelid disorders: diagnosis and management, American Family Physician
Folliculitis treatment and medications, SingleCare
What are the differences between a stye, a chalazion, an internal hordeolum and an external hordeolum?, University of Utah