Most styes clear up on their own within one to two weeks, but a warm compress applied several times a day is the single most effective way to speed that process along. A stye is a small, painful bump on or inside your eyelid caused by a bacterial infection, almost always staph, in an oil gland or hair follicle. The good news: you can treat the vast majority of styes at home without medication.
Warm Compresses Are the First-Line Treatment
A clean, warm washcloth held against the affected eyelid is the standard recommendation from ophthalmologists. The heat increases blood flow, loosens the clogged oil, and helps the stye drain naturally. Apply the compress for about 5 minutes at a time, two to four times per day. You can rewet the cloth when it cools down to keep steady warmth on the area.
Use a clean washcloth each time, or at least a freshly laundered one, to avoid reintroducing bacteria. Some people prefer microwavable eye masks designed to hold heat longer, which work fine as long as they aren’t too hot. You should feel gentle warmth, not burning.
You may have heard that warm tea bags work better than a plain washcloth. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says there is no evidence a tea bag offers any advantage over a clean, warm washcloth. Save your tea for drinking.
What Not to Do
The urge to squeeze or pop a stye is strong, but resist it. Squeezing can push the infection deeper into the eyelid, spread bacteria to surrounding tissue, and make everything worse. Let the warm compresses do the work. The stye will either drain on its own or gradually shrink as your immune system clears the infection.
Avoid wearing eye makeup while you have a stye. Brushes and applicators can harbor bacteria and spread the infection to your other eye or reinfect the same one. Once the stye heals, toss any eye makeup products you used in the days leading up to the infection. If you wear contact lenses, switch to glasses until the stye is completely gone, with no redness, swelling, or tenderness remaining. Throw away the lenses you wore just before and after the stye appeared, and start fresh with a new pair.
Over-the-Counter Relief
OTC stye ointments are essentially eye lubricants. They contain moisturizing ingredients that keep the eye surface comfortable and reduce the burning, itching, and gritty sensation a stye can cause. They won’t kill the bacteria or make the stye resolve faster, but they can make the wait more bearable, especially if the bump is irritating your eye every time you blink.
Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help with soreness if the stye is particularly tender. Gently washing your eyelids with diluted baby shampoo or a pre-moistened eyelid wipe once or twice a day also helps keep the area clean while it heals.
External vs. Internal Styes
Most styes are external. They form at the base of an eyelash when a hair follicle or one of the tiny oil glands along the lash line gets infected. Within a day or two, a small yellowish pustule appears right at the eyelid margin, surrounded by redness and swelling. These are the classic styes most people recognize.
Internal styes form deeper in the eyelid, inside a larger oil gland embedded in the lid itself. They cause the same pain and swelling, but instead of a visible pimple on the lash line, you’ll notice a tender lump under the skin. If you flip the eyelid, you might see a small yellow spot on the inner surface. Internal styes tend to be more uncomfortable and sometimes take longer to resolve, but the treatment approach is the same: warm compresses, patience, and good hygiene.
When a Stye Needs Medical Attention
If your stye hasn’t improved after two weeks of consistent warm compresses, or if it’s getting noticeably worse, it’s time to see an eye doctor. A stye that persists beyond a few weeks sometimes hardens into a painless but stubborn lump called a chalazion, which may need a different approach.
Certain signs suggest the infection has spread beyond the stye itself. Swelling that extends across the entire eyelid or around the eye socket, fever, eye pain that feels deep rather than surface-level, or any change in your vision (blurriness, double vision, or difficulty moving your eye) are red flags. These symptoms can indicate a more serious infection of the tissue around the eye, which requires prompt treatment with antibiotics rather than home care alone.
What Happens If You Need It Drained
For styes or chalazia that refuse to budge after weeks of treatment, a doctor may recommend draining it surgically. This sounds more dramatic than it is. The procedure takes about 15 to 20 minutes in the doctor’s office. After numbing the eyelid with a local anesthetic, the doctor makes a small incision and drains the fluid and built-up material inside.
Most of the time, the incision is made from the inside of the eyelid, so there’s no visible scar. You’ll likely wear a pressure patch for a short time afterward and use antibiotic drops or ointment for about a week to prevent reinfection. Recovery is quick, and the relief from finally getting rid of a stubborn bump is usually well worth it.
Preventing Styes From Coming Back
Some people get styes once and never again. Others deal with them repeatedly. If you fall into the second group, daily eyelid hygiene makes a real difference. The goal is to keep the oil glands along your lash line from getting clogged in the first place.
Wash your eyelids gently each day, either with a diluted baby shampoo on a clean washcloth or with pre-made eyelid cleansing wipes. Pay attention to the lash line where oil and debris accumulate. If you wear eye makeup, remove it thoroughly every night, wash your brushes and tools regularly, and replace products before they expire. Old mascara and eyeliner are common culprits for introducing bacteria to the eyelid.
If you wear contact lenses, always wash your hands before handling them, replace your lens case frequently, and never sleep in lenses that aren’t designed for overnight wear. These habits won’t guarantee you’ll never get another stye, but they significantly lower the odds by reducing the bacterial load around your eyes.