You almost certainly cannot get rid of a stye in 24 hours. Most styes take one to two weeks to fully resolve, even with proper care. What you can do in the first 24 hours is significantly reduce the pain and swelling, and give the stye the best possible chance of draining on its own as quickly as possible.
Why 24 Hours Isn’t Realistic
A stye forms when an oil gland along the eyelid gets blocked and bacteria begin to multiply inside it. That process takes days to develop, and the infection needs time to run its course in reverse. The typical resolution window is one to two weeks with conservative home care, and even fast-healing styes rarely disappear in less than a few days. The good news is that the worst of the discomfort, the throbbing tenderness and tight swelling, often eases within the first two to three days if you treat it aggressively from the start.
The Most Effective Thing You Can Do
Warm compresses are the single best treatment, and starting them early makes a real difference. Soak a clean washcloth in warm water (comfortably hot but not scalding), wring it out, and hold it gently against the closed eyelid for five minutes. Repeat this several times a day, ideally four to six times if you can manage it. The heat softens the hardened oil blocking the gland and increases blood flow to the area, which helps your immune system clear the infection faster.
The compress cools quickly, so re-wet the washcloth as needed to keep it warm for the full five minutes. Use a fresh washcloth each time, or at least a freshly laundered one, to avoid reintroducing bacteria. This is the treatment that actually moves the timeline forward. Everything else is secondary.
What Else Helps in the First 24 Hours
Keep your hands away from the stye. Every time you touch or rub it, you risk pushing bacteria deeper or spreading the infection to the other eye. If the stye is making your eye feel dry or gritty, over-the-counter stye ointments can help with comfort. These are primarily lubricants (mineral oil and petrolatum) that soothe irritation and protect the surface of the eye. They won’t cure the stye, but they make the waiting more bearable.
Remove contact lenses and switch to glasses until the stye is completely gone. Contacts can trap bacteria against the eyelid and slow healing. Stop wearing eye makeup as well. Mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow can introduce more debris into already-irritated glands. Once the stye resolves, throw away any eye makeup you were using before it appeared, since the products may be contaminated.
Don’t Squeeze or Pop It
This is the most important rule. A stye looks and feels like a pimple, and the urge to pop it is strong, especially when you want it gone fast. Squeezing a stye can force infected material deeper into the eyelid tissue or spread bacteria into surrounding skin. In serious cases, this can lead to a broader infection of the tissue around the eye, causing swelling that spreads across the eyelid or into the cheek. That kind of infection requires medical treatment and will take far longer to heal than the original stye would have.
If the stye drains on its own while you’re applying warm compresses, that’s fine. Gently clean away the discharge. But let it happen naturally.
Do Tea Bags Work Better?
You’ll find this suggestion everywhere online. The idea is that green tea contains compounds that reduce inflammation, and there is some research showing benefits for conditions like dry eye. But no clinical trials have shown tea bags outperform a plain warm washcloth for styes. Tea bags also carry a risk of irritating the eye or leaving behind small particles. A clean, warm washcloth is the safer and equally effective choice.
When a Stye Needs Medical Attention
If the stye hasn’t started improving after 48 hours of consistent warm compresses, it’s worth getting it looked at. The same applies if the redness and swelling spread beyond the bump itself to cover the entire eyelid or extend into your cheek. These are signs the infection may be moving beyond the original gland.
For styes that don’t respond to home care, a doctor can drain the blocked gland in a quick office procedure. This is typically reserved for styes that have been hanging around for weeks or have hardened into a painless but persistent lump (which at that point is technically a chalazion rather than a stye). The procedure is minor and provides fast relief, but it’s not a first-line option for a stye that just appeared yesterday.
Preventing the Next One
Some people get styes once and never again. Others get them repeatedly, which usually points to a pattern worth addressing. Replace eye makeup every three months, even if it looks and smells fine. Bacteria accumulate in mascara tubes and eyeliner pencils over time. Wash your hands before touching your eyes or handling contact lenses. If you tend toward oily skin or have a history of blepharitis (chronic eyelid inflammation), a nightly routine of gently cleaning your eyelid margins with a warm washcloth can keep the oil glands from clogging in the first place.