Most styes heal on their own within one to two weeks, and the single most effective thing you can do is apply warm compresses consistently. A stye is a small, painful bump that forms when a gland at the base of an eyelash gets infected, and while it looks alarming, it rarely needs more than basic home care.
Start With Warm Compresses
Warm compresses are the cornerstone of stye treatment. The heat liquefies the solidified oil trapped inside the blocked gland, allowing it to drain naturally. Research shows it takes about two to three minutes of sustained heat on the eyelid surface to soften that oil, so you need to keep the compress warm for the full session.
Apply a clean, warm washcloth to the closed eyelid for five minutes at a time, two to four times per day. The cloth cools quickly, so re-wet it with warm water every minute or so to maintain the temperature. Some people find a microwavable eye mask holds heat more consistently than a washcloth, which makes it easier to hit that sustained-warmth threshold. Do this daily until the stye drains or resolves, which typically takes one to two weeks.
Keep the Eyelid Clean
Gentle lid cleaning helps clear bacteria from the area and prevents the infection from worsening. Dilute a small amount of baby shampoo (or another fragrance-free, dye-free soap) in warm water, then use a clean cotton swab or washcloth to gently wipe along the eyelid margin. Don’t scrub or rub the area.
Equally important: don’t squeeze or pop the stye. It might be tempting when you see a yellowish head forming, but squeezing can push the infection deeper into the tissue or spread bacteria to surrounding glands.
What Not to Put on a Stye
You’ll find plenty of suggestions online about tea tree oil, but the evidence doesn’t support it for styes. Cochrane reviews looking at tea tree oil for eyelid conditions found uncertain results, and multiple study participants experienced eye irritation from the product. If used at all near the eyes, only very low concentrations are considered safe, and even then, application technique matters enough that improper use caused problems in clinical trials. Warm compresses are cheaper, safer, and better supported.
Skip makeup on the affected eye until the stye heals. Mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow can harbor bacteria and reintroduce them to the healing gland. Once the stye clears, throw away any eye makeup you used while it was active and start with fresh products. If you wear contact lenses, switch to glasses until the stye resolves, then start with a fresh pair of contacts.
When Antibiotic Ointment Helps
Most styes don’t need antibiotics. But if the bump isn’t improving after a week of warm compresses, or if the redness and swelling seem to be spreading beyond the bump itself, a doctor may prescribe an antibiotic eye ointment. These are typically applied as a small strip of ointment inside the lower eyelid several times a day. The key is completing the full course of treatment even if symptoms improve after a few days, since stopping early can let the infection return.
External vs. Internal Styes
The stye you can see on the outer edge of your eyelid, right at the lash line, is an external stye. It forms in the small oil glands that open into the eyelash follicle. You’ll notice redness and tenderness right around the base of a lash, sometimes with a visible yellowish-red point.
Internal styes form deeper in the eyelid, in the larger oil glands embedded in the lid tissue. You might not see them from the outside at all. Instead, the bump points inward toward the inner surface of the eyelid and may only be visible if the lid is flipped. Internal styes tend to be more uncomfortable and can take longer to resolve, but the treatment approach is the same: warm compresses, lid hygiene, and patience. If an internal stye doesn’t clear up and hardens into a painless, firm nodule, it has likely become a chalazion, which is a blocked gland without active infection.
Styes vs. Chalazions
A stye is an active infection: red, tender, and often with a visible pus point. A chalazion is a chronically blocked oil gland that typically isn’t painful and presents as a firm bump in the eyelid. People often confuse the two because a stye can sometimes turn into a chalazion once the infection clears but the blockage remains.
Chalazions still respond to warm compresses, though they take longer. If a chalazion persists for more than one to two months, a doctor may recommend a minor in-office procedure to drain it through a small incision on the inside of the eyelid.
Signs of a More Serious Problem
Styes very rarely become dangerous, but the infection can occasionally spread to the surrounding eyelid tissue, a condition called preseptal cellulitis. This is more common in children. Warning signs include:
- Fever along with increasing eyelid swelling
- Pain and swelling that spreads across the entire eyelid or around the eye socket
- Vision changes, such as blurriness or double vision
- Bulging of the eye forward from the socket
If the infection crosses deeper into the eye socket, it becomes orbital cellulitis, which is a medical emergency. A stye that stays localized to a small bump on the lid margin is not cause for alarm, but spreading redness, worsening swelling, or any of the symptoms above warrant immediate care.
Preventing Styes From Coming Back
Some people get styes repeatedly, which usually signals a pattern of gland blockage along the eyelid margin. A daily lid hygiene routine can break that cycle. Wash your eyelids each morning with diluted baby shampoo or a commercial lid scrub, using a clean cotton pad to gently wipe along the lash line. This removes the bacterial buildup and dried oil that contribute to blocked glands.
Regularly cleaning your makeup brushes also matters. Bacteria colonize brush bristles and get reintroduced to the lid margin with each application. Replace mascara every few months regardless of whether you’ve had a stye, since the warm, moist environment inside the tube is ideal for bacterial growth.