Most styes heal on their own within one to two weeks, and the single most effective thing you can do is apply warm compresses to the affected eyelid several times a day. A stye is a small, painful bump that forms when an oil gland along the eyelash line gets blocked and infected. While it looks alarming and feels tender, it’s almost always harmless.
Warm Compresses Are the Main Treatment
Applying a warm, damp washcloth to your closed eyelid is the go-to remedy for styes. The heat softens the blocked oil inside the gland and encourages it to drain naturally. Soak a clean washcloth in warm water (comfortable to the touch, not scalding), wring it out, and hold it against the stye for 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat this three to four times a day. The cloth cools quickly, so rewet it every few minutes to keep steady warmth on the area.
You can also use a microwavable eye mask or a warm rice sock, which hold heat longer than a washcloth. Whichever method you choose, consistency matters more than any single session. Most people notice the stye starts to soften and drain within a few days of regular compresses.
Keep the Area Clean, and Hands Off
Gently wash the affected eyelid with mild soap and water once or twice a day. This helps clear away oil, debris, and bacteria around the lash line. Resist the urge to squeeze or pop the stye. Squeezing can push the infection deeper into the eyelid tissue, making things worse and potentially spreading bacteria.
Skip eye makeup until the stye has fully healed. Mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow can reintroduce bacteria to the area and slow recovery. If you were using eye makeup when the stye developed, consider replacing those products afterward, since bacteria can linger on applicators and in containers.
Contact Lenses and Styes
If you wear contact lenses, switch to glasses while you have an active stye. Contacts can become contaminated with the bacteria causing the infection, and inserting or removing them means repeatedly touching the area around your eye. The American Academy of Ophthalmology notes that contact lenses are fine with a painless, non-infected bump (called a chalazion), but an actively infected stye is a different situation. Once the stye has fully resolved, you can go back to your lenses.
What About OTC Stye Products?
You’ll find over-the-counter stye ointments at most pharmacies, but it’s worth knowing what they actually do. The most common OTC stye ointments contain mineral oil and white petrolatum, which are lubricants. They soothe burning and irritation and protect the surface of the eye, but they don’t treat the underlying infection. Think of them as comfort measures, not cures.
Antibiotic drops or ointments (sometimes combined with a mild steroid) can help a stye resolve faster, but these require a prescription. Your doctor may recommend them if the stye isn’t improving with compresses alone.
Skip the DIY Remedies
Social media is full of suggestions involving essential oils, tea bags, and other home remedies. Most of these have no evidence behind them for styes, and some carry real risk. Tea tree oil, for example, has shown some usefulness at low concentrations for a specific eyelid mite problem, but applying it at full strength near your eye can cause chemical irritation or burns. The American Academy of Ophthalmology warns against using essential oils around the eyes without professional guidance. Warm compresses are safer and better supported than anything you’ll find in a viral video.
External vs. Internal Styes
Styes come in two varieties, and where yours sits affects how it looks and feels. An external stye forms at the base of an eyelash, where small oil glands become blocked. You’ll see a visible red bump along the lash line, and it may develop a white or yellow head as pus collects. An internal stye develops deeper in the eyelid, in the larger oil glands embedded in the eyelid’s inner surface. Internal styes tend to be more painful and less visible from the outside, and when they drain, they release pus on the inner surface of the eyelid rather than along the lash line.
The treatment is the same for both types: warm compresses, gentle cleaning, and patience. Internal styes sometimes take a bit longer to resolve because they’re deeper in the tissue.
Typical Healing Timeline
Most styes last one to two weeks. You’ll usually notice improvement within the first few days of consistent warm compresses. The bump softens, drains (sometimes overnight while you sleep), and then gradually shrinks. Some styes drain visibly, leaving a small amount of pus on your lashes or pillow. Others resolve more quietly as the body reabsorbs the blocked material.
If a stye doesn’t improve after two weeks of home care, it may have transitioned into a chalazion, which is a firm, painless lump that forms when the blocked gland heals over without fully draining. Chalazions aren’t infected, but they can persist for weeks or months and sometimes need professional treatment.
When a Stye Needs Medical Attention
A straightforward stye rarely needs a doctor, but certain signs suggest the infection is spreading beyond the gland. Watch for redness and swelling that extends across the entire eyelid or into the surrounding skin, which could indicate cellulitis, a skin infection that needs antibiotics. Seek immediate care if you develop a fever alongside eye swelling, pain when moving the eye, vision changes, or a bulging appearance to the eye. These symptoms can signal that infection has spread into the deeper tissues of the eye socket, a serious condition called orbital cellulitis.
If a stye grows large enough to press on your eye and blur your vision, or if it keeps coming back, an eye doctor may recommend draining it. This is a quick in-office procedure done under local anesthesia. The doctor opens the bump with a small needle or instrument, drains the contents, and typically prescribes antibiotic drops or ointment for about a week afterward. Recovery is straightforward, and you may wear a pressure patch on the eye briefly after the procedure.
Preventing Styes From Coming Back
Some people get styes once and never again. Others deal with them repeatedly, usually because of chronic issues with the oil glands along their eyelids. A few habits reduce your risk:
- Wash your eyelids regularly. A gentle daily cleanse of your lash line with mild soap or a dedicated lid scrub removes the oil and bacteria that clog glands.
- Remove makeup before bed. Sleeping in eye makeup is one of the most common contributors to blocked eyelid glands.
- Replace old eye makeup. Mascara and liquid eyeliner are particularly good at harboring bacteria after a few months of use.
- Wash your hands before touching your eyes. This includes before inserting or removing contact lenses.
- Don’t share eye makeup or towels. The bacteria that cause styes transfer easily between people through shared items.
If you get styes frequently despite good hygiene, it’s worth seeing an eye doctor. Recurring styes can be a sign of an underlying eyelid condition like blepharitis, which involves chronic inflammation along the lash line and responds well to targeted treatment.