How to Get Rid of Sties in Your Eyelids
If you have a red and swollen area on your eyelid, you may have a sty. Sties look sort of like a pimple. While unattractive and sometimes painful, a sty usually is not a serious condition. They usually only hurt if you touch them. Bacteria cause sties to form. While sties will sometimes go away on their own without treatment, you can take some steps to help them go away and to prevent them from coming back.
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Instructions
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Treatment
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Use hot compresses. Put a clean, hot washcloth on your eyes three or four times a day until the sty goes away. Hold the washcloth on your eyes for several minutes. The compresses are going to help your body fight the infection and speed up the drainage. It should not take longer than a week for your sty to go away.
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Wash your compresses. Do not re-use your compress unless you have washed it. Be careful not to wash it with anything else, otherwise you may spread the infection.
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Clean your eyelids and lashes. Using a cotton swab, dip it into a mixture of several drops of baby shampoo to one cup of water. Swab your lids. Clean both eyes, and make sure to use a different cotton swab for each eye.
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Prevent reoccurrences. You can rub an antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin along your lashes before going to bed. Do this for two months to prevent a reoccurrence.
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See your doctor. If your sty is still there after using compresses and swabbing it for more than a week, your doctor may need to prescribe antibiotic drops. In some cases, your doctor will open and drain it. Never attempt to drain the sty yourself.
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Avoid future sties. Wash your hands often. You may be putting bacteria into your eyes by touching unwashed hands to your eyes. Old makeup or dirty makeup brushes can also cause sties. Putting in contact lenses is another way people get sties. If you think you inadvertently touched your eye, getting bacteria into it, you can scrub your eyelid with a warm washcloth.
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Tips & Warnings
Never press the sty to try to pop it.
