Stye on Eyelid: Pictures, Causes, How to Get Rid, Treatment

What is a stye on eyelid? What does it mean to have a painful red bump underneath the eyelid? Is a pimple on eyelid contagious? Having a pimple like bump on eye lid can be irritating and painful especially when your try to squeeze it. In this article, learn more on the symptoms, causes and how you can treat bump that develops at the edge of the eyelid.

A red bump that grows on different locations of the eyelid is rarely a serious medical issue. However, it can be pretty irritating causing discomfort. It can be boring and ugly to have a pimple on your eyelid. How do you go about an inflamed pimple on eyelid? A stye can form inside your eyelid, this tend to hurt even more especially if there is a bacterial infection.

The eyelid has a lot of oily gland which can get clogged by dead skin, dirt or build of oil and other foreign particles. When the glands are blocked the pores under your eyelid tend to accumulate bacteria. A growth which appears like a raised lump forms. This is what causes a stye to develop.

Stye on eye meaning

What does it mean to have a stye on eyelid? A stye: medically referred to as hordeolum develops when an oil gland at the edges or inside the eyelid becomes clogged and inflamed. The spot on eyelid resembles a pimple, a bump or a lump. This growth tend to appear on the inside or outside your eyelid. The pimple on eyelid can also appear underneath or upper sides sometimes on the edges of your eye.

Does a spot on eyelid signifies any medical issues? A typical stye doesn’t necessarily mean you are suffering from a complication or eyesight problem. A spot on eyelid typically don’t cause any vision problems. Your ability to see objects shouldn’t be affected by a stye. Stye is a caused by bacterium found in the nose which is transferred easily to the eye. This happens when you rub your nose then your eye.

A bump on the eyelid that grows bigger should be a cause of concern. Not all bumps on your eye are styes. Often mistaken for styes are enlarged blocked oil gland in the eyelid. A chalazion tend to mimic a stye for the first few days only to turn into a painless bump later on.

Treatment for chalazion can be used to get rid of the stye. However, if the chalazion remains months after treatment, you should visit your healthcare provider for further medical examination.

Stye on eyelid Pictures

How does a stye on eyelid looks like? As discussed above, a stye will take the shape of a pimple or bump. Styes are typically small visible spots or lumps on upper eyelid or underneath the eye. To help you understand the appearance of styes, we have inserted a picture below. This is aimed to help you identify with your symptoms.

Stye on Eyelid Treatment - Picture — Stye on Eyelid Treatment – Picture

Stye on eyelid symptoms

What are the symptoms and signs of stye? You will notice a stye if you feel redness, tenderness and pain in the affected area. Your eyelid may feel irritated or scratchy. Other symptoms and signs include:

Swelling of the eyelid
Eyelid pain
Discomfort when blinking the eye
Watering of the eye
Red bump on eyelid that resembles a boil or a pimple
Sensitivity to light

How Long Does a Stye Last?

Styes will usually heal on their own over a few days to a couple of weeks. A stye resembles a pimple on the upper or lower eyelid. Stye on eye is similar to other skin infections such as acne or abscesses. It results from the infection of oil glands by a combination of bacteria and foreign particles trapped in the skin of the eyelid.

Although styes do not pose a serious threat to your eye or eyelid, the infection in rare cases can spread to the skin around your eye causing a condition called cellulitis. This will require medical treatment. It is a good idea to visit an ophthalmologist.

The best way to treat a pimple on eyelid is to apply warm compress to the affected eyelid for 10-15 minutes three times in a day. It will help to drain pus trapped in the bump on eyelid to come to the surface of the skin. It is advisable NOT to pop the pimple yourself, allow it to burst on its own by using warm compress several times in a day.

What causes a stye on eyelid?

What causes a stye on your eyelid? Styes are caused by infection with staphylococcus bacteria. In most cases, when the oil gland of the eyelid is blocked or plugged. This tend to happen when opening of the glands is obstructed a scar or foreign particles such as make up or dust. Our bodies harbor millions of friendly bacteria that coexist with us.

When the oil gland of the eye is obstructed, the bacteria combines with foreign particles around the eyelid. This leads to infection resulting to a tender pimple on eyelid.

Chalazia develops when you have chronic stye on eyelid. You are likely to have an enlarged painless lump on eyelid.

Are styes contagious?

A pimple on eyelid is basically an inflammation of the eyelid that is found inside one of the small oil glands lining your eyelid. Most of the spots on your eyelid are caused by an infection from bacteria called staphylococcus aureus, staph. Although some stye have no bacterial infection in them.

Styes are NOT contagious, implying that you can not get it from a person who has one. Styes cannot be spread from one person to another. Stye formation is a more complicated process than a mere simple contact. Your body naturally has a defense to block stye from spreading from one person to another by simple touch. However, bacteria from a stye can be passed to someone else. This doesn’t necessarily mean the receiving person will get infected.

You can avoid transmitting or getting stye to another person if you have one. The best way to do this is through regular hand hygiene. If you have stye on eye, you shouldn’t wear contact lenses or make up until the stye is completely healed.

Stye on eyelid in baby

What is stye like for a baby? According to Alanna Levine, MD, a pediatrician at Orangetown Pediatric Associates in Tappan, Newyork, a stye on infant appears like a red bubble on eyelid. It may or may not be painful for the baby. Just like the adults, it is as a result of an infection of an oil gland or eyelash hair infection.

A stye on eyelid of baby resembles a pimple, it is typically rounded and raised. Usually the pimple can point inward or outward the eyelid. Though styes are not common on babies but they’re not unheard of either.

Styes on infant are not associated to any medical condition. This implies that you can safely treat the pimple on eyelid baby at home. According to Levine stye will go away on its own. However, you can apply standard warm compress. Put a warm, moist washcloth on the affected eye for about 10 -15 minutes about for times in a day. This helps the stye to drain and heal after few days of warm compressing.

Stye on eye getting bigger

A bump on eyelid getting bigger is a cause for alarm. If you have an enlarged bump on eyelid, you should see your healthcare provider for treatment. A typical stye is smaller in size appearing like a spot. A chalazion is enlarged stye on your eyelid, usually growing further on your eyelid than a stye. A chalazion is painless in most cases. Depending on how big and where it grow it can temporarily interfere with your vision.

If the stye doesn’t heal on its own within a couple of weeks or gets bigger, more painful or coupled with redness spreading along the rim line of the eye or gets swelling around the eye, it is time to go see an ophthalmologist. An enlarged stye can be a threat to your vision. Antibiotic ointment can be prescribed and in more severe cases, a surgery might be done to remove drain pus and infected tissues around the eye.

In the meantime, you should use hot compresses as discussed to help heal the infection. Clean your face regularly with clean water and gentle facial soap. You may as well avoid eye makeup and other cosmetics until the stye is fully healed.

Stye on Eye won’t go away, keeps on coming back

A stye that keeps on coming back or won’t go away can be worrying. A pimple on eyelid that refuses to go or keeps on coming back can be associated with a chronic condition called blepharitis as well as acne rosacea. If you tend to have a stye that keeps on coming back, you may need to practice better eyelid hygiene. You should start to scrub your eyelids regularly to remove dead skin cells. Here’s how to:

You can use mild baby shampoo to start the cleaning process.
Put a few drops of baby shampoo into a tea cup of warm water
Stir the mixture to distribute the shampoo evenly
Use a cotton swab or wash cloth to brush gently your eyelid including your eyelashes. Ensure you keep your eyelids closed

A long term skin condition on your eyelid can cause spots and redness on your eyelid and face. You may visit your doctor or consult your dermatologist to confirm the presence of rosacea.

Treating a Stye on Eyelid

A bump on eyelid will resolve on its own without treatment, usually within few days or a couple of weeks. If you have an external stye, it will turn into a yellow spot and releases pus. This happens after three to four days. Internal styes are quite painful and will last slightly longer. However, a warm compress held against the eyelid should be able to heal the stye more quickly. You should never attempt to burst or pop a stye yourself.

Over- The- Counter Painkillers can help relief stye on eyelid. Taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen (Tylenol) can help ease the pain.

Stye on eye surgery

If the stye on eye is getting bigger, enlarged and doesn’t respond to treatment, a surgery on the stye can be done to drain pus trapped inside. Your doctor may pierce it with a needle or make a small cut in it. This is done under a local anaesthetic, it is a safe procedure that tend to minimize pain.

How to Get Rid of Stye on Eyelid – Home remedies

A painful bump on eye generally go away in a couple of a days with simple home treatment. Here are some ways you can treat and prevent styes on eyelid.

Use warm compress

A warm compress will help to heal the stye faster by draining the pus trapped in the bump. Here’s how to use a warm compress to heal a pimple on eyelid.

Soak a face towel in slightly warm water
Place it on the affected eyelid for about 5 – 10 minutes
Do this three to four times in a day for a couple of days
The warmth helps to dissolve the pus trapped in the stye draining it naturally.

Baby Shampoo

Practicing good eyelid hygiene helps to prevent future styes. You may use baby shampoo to remove dead skin cells, dust and makeup that puts you at risk of getting styes. Here’s how to:

Mix considerable amount of baby shampoo with a slightly warm water
Use cotton swab to gently rub your eyelids
Do this daily

Stye eyelid video

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