What is a Stye?

A stye or hordeolum is a boil or pimple on the skin of your eyelid. It usually happens when there is an infection in the root of the eyelash or a meibomian gland. A meibomian gland is a gland in your skin that produces an oily material which helps to moisten and protect your eyes  by preventing the water layer on your eye surface from evaporating.

Symptoms of a stye are redness, pain and swelling on your eyelid. You may see white, pus-filled spot with a head on it close to the edge of your eyelid and it may be very tender as well. When left untreated it can become a chalazion. Once the initial inflammation has gone, you may be left with a bump that is painless on the underside of your eyelid. The most common cause of a stye is a bacterial infection. It is estimated that close to 90%  of styes are caused by staphylococcal bacteris, which is usually found  on your skin and inside your nose and mouth. Commonly  associated with styes is a process called blepharitis. Blepharitis is a chronic inflammation of your eyelids. People who have blepharitis are much more likely to get styes.

For the most part, styes can go away by themselves within a few days with minimal treatment. If your stye does not go away,  there are several treatments available. A hot compress is a simple, treatment for a stye. Use a face towel soaked in hot water to make a compress, it should not be scalding hot. Place the compress against the area of your eyelid for five to ten minutes. This will warm and open the pores on your eyelid helping them to drain. This should be repeated  four to eight  times a day until it clears up. Antibiotic treatments in the form of drops or ointments usually are employed for faster and easier recovery. Sometimes oral antibiotics are needed as well. If medical treatment fails, styes may need to be removed by your ophthalmologist. Usually, the doctor will open the head of the  stye from the underneath your eyelid with a blade. This will allow the proper cleaning of trapped fluid and debri to be released and promote the lid to heal.

At North Shore Eye Care, our board certified eye doctors, Dr. S. Martin, Dr. Zweibel, Dr. J. Martin, and Dr. Mauro see many patients with all types of eye infections including styes and blepharitis. In Long Island New York in Suffolk and Nassau Counties, we see patients from huntington,  massapequa, brentwood, smithtown, nesconset, st james, kings park, fort salonga, centereach, selden, coram, stony brook, setauket, port jefferson, miller place, mt sinai, rocky point, nissequogue, head of the harbor, old field, belle terre, poquott, sound beach, westhampton, southampton, east hampton, sag harbor, hampton bays, jamesport, mattituck, southold, cutchogue, commack, northport, centerport, greenlawn, dix hills, melville, plainview, woodbury, syosset, bethpage, cold spring harbor, deer park, and many other towns.