A stye is a small, painful abscess that forms in one of the oil or sweat glands of your eyelid, almost always caused by a staph bacterial infection. It looks like a red, swollen bump near the edge of the eyelid, often with a yellowish center, and it typically resolves on its own within one to two weeks.
What Happens Inside Your Eyelid
Your eyelids contain dozens of tiny glands that produce oils and moisture to keep your eyes lubricated. When one of these glands gets blocked, bacteria (usually Staphylococcus) can multiply inside it, triggering an infection. The result is a localized pocket of pus, essentially a small abscess, that swells up and becomes tender to the touch.
There are two types, depending on which gland is affected. An external stye forms at the base of an eyelash, in the smaller oil or sweat glands along the eyelid margin. This is the more common kind. An internal stye develops deeper in the eyelid, in one of the larger oil-producing glands embedded in the eyelid’s cartilage. Internal styes tend to be more painful and are less likely to drain on their own.
What a Stye Feels and Looks Like
The first sign is usually tenderness and swelling in one spot on your eyelid. Within a day or two, an external stye becomes a visible bump right at the lash line. A small yellowish pustule often appears at the base of an eyelash, surrounded by redness and puffiness that can spread across the lid. You may also notice watery eyes, sensitivity to light, or the feeling that something is stuck in your eye.
Within two to four days, most external styes rupture on their own, releasing pus and relieving the pain fairly quickly after that. Internal styes follow a different pattern. The swelling shows up on the inner surface of the eyelid rather than the outer edge, and it rarely ruptures spontaneously. Instead, it may linger as a firm lump. In more severe cases, an internal stye can cause enough inflammation to produce a low fever or chills.
Styes vs. Chalazia
People often confuse styes with chalazia (singular: chalazion), and for good reason. Both are eyelid bumps, and an internal stye can actually turn into a chalazion over time. The key difference is that a stye is an active infection: it’s red, painful, and comes on quickly. A chalazion is a blocked gland that has become chronically inflamed but isn’t infected. It’s typically painless, slower to develop, and firmer to the touch. If your bump hurts and appeared within the last day or two, it’s more likely a stye. If it’s been there for weeks and doesn’t hurt much, it’s probably a chalazion.
Why Some People Get Them Repeatedly
Anyone can get a stye, but certain conditions make them far more likely to recur. Chronic inflammation along the eyelid margins (blepharitis), dysfunction of the eyelid’s oil glands, and ocular rosacea all increase the risk substantially. These conditions change the composition of the oils your eyelids produce, making the glands more prone to blockages that invite infection. Some research also suggests that elevated blood lipid levels may contribute to gland blockages, though this link is less firmly established.
Touching your eyes with unwashed hands, sleeping in old eye makeup, and using expired contact lens solution can also introduce bacteria to the eyelid. If you get styes more than once or twice a year, the underlying cause is worth investigating rather than just treating each episode individually.
How to Treat a Stye at Home
Warm compresses are the cornerstone of stye treatment. Apply a clean, warm, wet cloth to the affected eyelid for 5 to 10 minutes, repeating this 3 to 6 times a day. The heat increases blood flow to the area and helps the blocked gland open and drain. Use a fresh cloth each time, or at least rewash and reheat the same one, to avoid reintroducing bacteria.
Resist the urge to squeeze or pop the stye. Forcing it open can spread the infection into surrounding tissue. Let it drain naturally. In the meantime, avoid wearing contact lenses and eye makeup on the affected eye until the stye has fully resolved. Keep the eyelid clean by gently washing it with mild soap and water or a diluted baby shampoo solution.
Most styes respond well to this approach. If the pain and swelling haven’t started improving after 48 hours of consistent warm compresses, or if they’re actively getting worse after two to three days, it’s time to have it evaluated.
When a Stye Needs Medical Treatment
A stye that doesn’t respond to home care, or one that grows especially large, may need to be drained by a doctor through a small incision. This is a quick in-office procedure and provides rapid relief. Internal styes that don’t resolve sometimes harden into a chalazion, which may then require steroid treatment or minor surgery to remove.
The most serious complication is when the infection spreads beyond the gland into the surrounding skin of the eyelid, a condition called preseptal cellulitis. This causes redness and swelling that extends well beyond the original bump, often across the entire eyelid. If the infection spreads even deeper into the eye socket (orbital cellulitis), it becomes a medical emergency. Seek immediate care if you or your child develops a fever along with significant eyelid swelling, eye pain, vision changes, or the eye beginning to bulge forward. These symptoms are uncommon but require prompt treatment with oral or IV antibiotics.
Keeping Styes From Coming Back
Daily eyelid hygiene is the most effective preventive measure, especially if you have blepharitis or rosacea. Gently scrubbing the lash line with a warm, damp cloth each morning removes the debris and bacterial buildup that clog glands overnight. If you wear eye makeup, remove it completely before bed and replace mascara and eyeliner every few months to prevent bacterial contamination.
For people with recurrent styes tied to chronic eyelid inflammation, a doctor may prescribe a long-term low-dose antibiotic to reduce the frequency of flare-ups. Treating the underlying condition, whether it’s rosacea, blepharitis, or meibomian gland dysfunction, is ultimately more effective than dealing with each stye as it appears.