Most styes are preventable with a handful of daily habits that keep bacteria off your eyelids and oil glands flowing freely. Styes form when Staphylococcus aureus, one of the most common bacteria on your skin, gets trapped inside a clogged oil gland along your lash line. Prevention comes down to reducing that bacterial load, keeping those glands unclogged, and avoiding the everyday mistakes that introduce germs to your eyes.
Why Styes Form in the First Place
Your eyelids contain dozens of tiny oil glands (called meibomian glands) that release a thin layer of oil every time you blink. This oil keeps your tears from evaporating too quickly. When one of these glands gets blocked by dead skin, dried oil, sweat, or makeup residue, bacteria that normally live harmlessly on your skin can multiply inside the clogged gland. The result is a red, painful bump on your eyelid.
Sweat is a particularly common trigger. After exercise or any activity that makes you sweat, the mix of oil and sweat can seal off gland openings and create the perfect environment for infection. People with certain skin conditions, especially rosacea, are more prone to these blockages because their oil glands tend to produce thicker, stickier secretions that don’t flow as easily.
Daily Eyelid Cleaning
The single most effective habit for preventing styes is washing your eyelids every day, even when they look and feel fine. With your eyes closed, use a clean washcloth with warm water and a drop of diluted baby shampoo to gently wipe across each eyelid about 10 times, making sure to wipe across the lash line too. Rinse thoroughly. If you prefer showers, let warm water run over your closed eyes for about a minute, then use the washcloth and shampoo method.
If you have rosacea or a history of recurrent styes, wash your lids at least twice a day. This is a long-term habit, not a short-term fix. People who stop cleaning once their symptoms clear tend to get flare-ups again. The goal is to prevent bacterial buildup and keep the oil gland openings clear before a blockage ever starts.
Warm Compresses to Keep Glands Flowing
Warm compresses do something eyelid washing alone can’t: they melt thickened oil inside the glands so it flows out normally. Research on meibomian gland function shows that applying a warm, moist cloth at around 40°C (104°F) for five minutes is enough to noticeably increase oil secretion. That’s warm to the touch but not hot enough to burn. A clean washcloth soaked in warm water and wrung out works well.
After holding the compress against your closed eyelids for five minutes, gently press along the lid margin near your lashes with your fingertips. This light massage helps push softened oil out of the glands. If you’re prone to styes, doing this once a day (before your eyelid cleaning) can make a meaningful difference. For people who rarely get styes, a few times a week is reasonable maintenance.
Makeup and Cosmetic Habits
Eye makeup is one of the most common ways bacteria get introduced directly to your oil glands. Mascara wands and eyeliner pencils touch your lash line repeatedly, and over time they accumulate bacteria from both your skin and the air. The FDA notes that manufacturers typically recommend discarding mascara two to four months after opening. Most people keep theirs far longer than that.
A few rules that significantly cut your risk:
- Replace mascara every two to three months, even if it hasn’t dried out.
- Never share eye makeup, since you’re essentially sharing someone else’s skin bacteria.
- Remove all eye makeup before bed, every night, using a gentle cleanser designed for the eye area.
- Choose non-comedogenic, fragrance-free products when possible, as these are less likely to clog glands or trigger inflammation.
- Skip eye makeup entirely during a flare-up if your lids are inflamed or irritated.
Contact Lens Care
Contact lenses sit directly on your eye’s surface and can transfer bacteria to your lids with every insertion and removal. The CDC’s guidelines for preventing eye infections with contacts apply directly to stye prevention. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, then dry them completely with a clean cloth before touching your lenses. Use only the recommended disinfecting solution, and rub and rinse lenses each time rather than just soaking them.
Your lens case matters just as much as the lenses themselves. After each use, clean it with solution (not water), store it upside down with the caps off to air dry, and replace it at least every three months. Never top off old solution with fresh solution, as this dilutes the disinfectant. Remove your lenses before swimming or showering, since water introduces bacteria that contact lens solution may not fully eliminate. And avoid sleeping in lenses unless your eye care provider has specifically told you it’s safe for your prescription type.
Omega-3s and Gland Health
The oil your meibomian glands produce has a specific composition, and what you eat can change it. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA (found in fish oil and some algae supplements), appear to improve the quality of meibomian gland secretions. A systematic review of randomized controlled trials found that omega-3 supplementation improved tear stability and reduced symptoms of gland dysfunction, with benefits increasing at higher doses and longer durations of use.
Most of the clinical trials that showed benefits used daily doses combining EPA and DHA in the range of 1,000 to 3,000 mg total, with a higher proportion of EPA driving better results. Fish oil supplements are the most common source. If you’d rather get omega-3s from food, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines are the richest sources. Flaxseed oil is a plant-based alternative, though your body converts it to EPA less efficiently. This isn’t a quick fix. The studies showing the clearest benefits ran for three months or longer.
Hands Off Your Eyes
This one sounds obvious but is surprisingly difficult in practice. Most people touch their eyes, rub their lids, or rest their fingers near their lash line dozens of times a day without thinking about it. Every touch transfers Staphylococcus aureus and other bacteria from your hands to the exact spot where styes form. If you catch yourself rubbing your eyes out of habit, especially during allergy season, using lubricating eye drops can relieve the itch that triggers the rubbing.
When Styes Keep Coming Back
Occasional styes are common and usually just mean bacteria found their way into a clogged gland. But if you’re getting styes repeatedly, several times a year or more, that pattern often points to an underlying condition called meibomian gland dysfunction. In MGD, the glands chronically produce oil that’s too thick or waxy to flow normally, creating ongoing blockages that keep getting infected.
Rosacea is another common driver of recurrent styes. The same inflammation that causes facial flushing and redness also affects the eyelids, thickening gland secretions and making the lid margin more hospitable to bacterial overgrowth. If you notice persistent redness or irritation along your lash line, grittiness in your eyes, or facial rosacea symptoms alongside recurring styes, these conditions are worth investigating with an eye care provider. Treatments range from prescription anti-inflammatory drops to in-office procedures that physically unclog the glands using gentle heat or specialized probes.
Environmental and Lifestyle Factors
Air pollution contributes to eyelid gland problems more than most people realize. Research has linked particulate matter exposure to increased rates of meibomian gland dysfunction, dry eye, and ocular surface inflammation. If you live in a high-pollution area or work in dusty environments, wearing wraparound glasses or sunglasses outdoors can reduce the amount of particulate matter reaching your eyes. Lubricating drops help flush irritants from the eye surface.
Screen time plays a role too. When you stare at a screen, your blink rate drops significantly, which means your meibomian glands get squeezed less often and oil stagnates inside them. Taking regular breaks and consciously blinking fully (not the half-blinks most people default to while reading a screen) helps keep glands active. Sleep deprivation compounds the problem by increasing inflammatory activity around the eye’s oil-producing glands, so consistent sleep is more relevant to eye health than it might seem.