As a highly contagious eye condition, a stye is painful and unsightly. Though it is neither a permanent, nor a life threatening condition, a stye should be treated right away to minimize the length of time it is present and to avoid contaminating others. Though most people have heard of a stye, few know how to treat it with natural cures and home remedies. The best safeguard against a stye is to avoid catching the infection that causes one through proper diet, rest, nutrition, and good hygiene habits. However, if a stye is contracted, those armed with knowledge of home remedies for stye are in the best position to treat it immediately. This knowledge includes, of course, clearly understanding what a stye is, understanding what causes it, being able to quickly identify its symptoms and knowing how to use home remedies for a stye in order to heal the eye.
Stye Definition
An infection in the eye or the eyelid is referred to as a stye.
Stye Causes
There are many different causes for a stye, but its primary cause is a staph infection. Often this staph infection first invades the hair follicle of a person’s eyelash, which is where it begins to grow into a stye. From there, it generally spreads as a person rubs their eyes due to the irritation that a stye causes. The following are among the other possible ways that a person can become infected with a stye:
- Conjunctivitis
- Infection in the nose
- Poor nutrition/poor immunity
- Eye infection
Stye Symptoms
Symptoms:
- A bump on the eyelid similar to a pimple
- Redness in or around the eye
- Extreme irritation
- Blurred vision (from the stye obstructing it, from swelling or from the eye tearing up)
- Sensitivity to light
- Pain
- Tenderness
- Inflammation
- Tearing of the eyes
Stye Remedies
Natural and herbal remedies for sties include:
- Placing a teabag over the closed eye for approximately 4 hours or apply a teabag for 10 minutes at time several times throughout the day
- Soaking a clove in water and apply to the infected eye for effective pain relief
- Placing warm guava leaves in a damp, warm cloth and apply to eyes
- Cut an aloe leaf lengthwise and apply the fleshy side of the leaf to the eye to reduce swelling and discomfort
- Preparing a compress from boiled acacia leaves
- Boiling coriander leaves in water to create a rinse for the infected eye
- Mixing triphala powder in water and let the mixture stand 8 – 10 hours before using it as wash for the infected eye
- Make a poultice of grated potatoes to reduce inflammation
- Combining alum granules in a cup of water and use as an eye wash
- Apply a warm, damp cloth to the eye several times a day to help reduce swelling
- By boiling approximately two teaspoons of turmeric in water and thoroughly straining it, an eye drop can be created for treatment of sties
A stye will normally begin to drain and heal after several days of continued treatment. As the swelling subsides, so will a lot of the discomfort that accompanies it. However, if a stye lasts longer than 10 days or recurs often, a person should seek medical attention to be sure that it is only a stye and not a sign of another underlying illness.
