RULE 1: START AT HOME TREATMENT EARLY

Eye styes often start with similar characteristics and clinical signs. If you've had them enough you know what i'm talking about. Often they start with a pinpoint sensation at the stye site and it can even being described by some as a tingling sensation. Sometimes people get headaches as well, while others suffer from eye strain. When you first get the stye, immediately start using warm compresses multiple times a day. For information on how to use a warm compress for eye stye treatment click here. This technique works extremely well and can make the difference in how long the stye lasts and how severe it is. 

RULE 2: DO NOT TRY TO POP THE STYE

This might seem like common sense for most, but you will be surprised by how many people actually try to pop the stye like a pimple. Its not a pimple people! A stye is an infection of the glands at the base of the eyelid and by popping it, you can actually do more harm then good. The stye can become even more infected and you can even spread the infection to other parts of your body. Using the warm compress will accomplish the same goal of opening the stye up to drain without the trauma induced by popping it.

RULE 3: PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE

Remember your mother always telling you to wash your hands? She wasn't doing this for her own good. Her advice is actually one of the best ways to prevent styes and even other diseases in general. Styes are usually caused by a bacteria that is commonly found on the skin. It can often be spread to the eye on your hands so washing your hands is extremely important. Make sure to wash your hands before and after touching your eye to minimize the transfer of bacteria. These general hygiene practices aren't just limited to hand washing though. Make sure to wash your face with a non-irritating facial wash or scrub. Also, if you wear eye makeup, make sure to thoroughly remove it, as makeup can easily cause styes to form. For a good eyelid cleanser click here.

RULE 4: USE OVER-THE-COUNTER PRODUCTS IF NEEDED

There are many eye stye treatment products available that are great at soothing the eye, cleansing the eyelids, and disinfecting the stye. Many of these products can be bought over-the-counter and most are fairly inexpensive. Products such as stye ointments or drops are great at providing pain relief due to the stye and also have an antibacterial function. Eyelid scrubs and cleansers are perfect for cleaning around the eye. As always, check the product label for instructions on how to use these products most effectively.

RULE 5: IF THE STYE DOESN'T GO AWAY OR GETS WORSE THEN GET TO A DOCTOR

Sometimes no matter what you do at home, the stye just won't go away or actually starts to get worse. This could be an indication of a worse infection that needs the attention of a doctor. The doctor will most likely prescribe an antibiotic drop or ointment to combat the infection. In serious cases the stye may need to be lanced by an ophthalmologist or even surgically removed. When determining how long to wait until seeing a doctor, there is no strict time table. Instead, let you common sense guide you and always seek professional treatment sooner rather then later. However, it is important to note that these styes can sometimes take a long time (up to a few weeks) to go away completely.

Hopefully the advice above has given you a general guideline of how to go about eye stye treatment. So the next time you have a stye, try to follow the 5 golden rules to make sure that you are doing the proper things for your eye stye treatment.

I woke up yesterday morning with that familiar pain sensation on the upper eyelid of my left eye. I commonly get eye styes in that same spot, probably due to genetics since I regularly use an eyelid scrub to prevent them from forming. I have also been stressed out the past couple days so that could have caused it as well. Anyway, I ran into the bathroom and just as I predicted, there was a small stye beginning to form at the base of my eyelashes. Since I had caught this stye early I knew that I needed to start some form of eye stye treatment soon, with the hope of possibly preventing the stye from forming completely.

With that said, there are many forms of eye stye treatment that can be accomplished right in your own home. These treatments should be done as soon as possible, since they can often prevent the stye from forming completely, which was my goal in the first place. My favorite at home eye stye treatment, and probably the easiest to do, is to use a warm compress directly on the stye. The easiest way to do this is to get a small washcloth or towel and run it under warm or hot water. You can also get the washcloth wet and put it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it hot. Although this is common sense, it is important to mention that the washcloth should be at a temperature that is hot, but not hot enough to burn you or your eye, as this would do more harm then good. After the washcloth is warm, place it directly on the stye for 10 minutes. The heat will cause the stye to open up naturally and also helps to soothe the area, freeing you from pain. I like to do this technique for about 10 minutes 3-4 times a day until the stye starts to heal.

As stated above, the use of a warm compress as an eye stye treatment is not only easy to do, but is also extremely effective. Getting back to my story, I did just that. The next day, the stye was still there but it hadn't gotten any bigger. I continued to apply the warm compresses and also used some stye ointment which provided relief. Overall, the stye never got any bigger and actually went away in a few days. The greatest thing was that my eye never swelled up like it used to and no one else even knew that I had a stye on my eye in the first place.

There are a few other things I want to mention that are important when dealing with eye stye treatment. First of all, the stye is not a pimple and NEVER EVER TRY TO POP THE STYE! This is a very important fact to remember since it can actually cause more damage and prevent the skin from healing. Also, there are lot of bacteria in the stye and this can be easily transmitted to other parts of your body. It is also important to wash your hands thoroughly before and after touching the stye and the washcloth.

So the next time you have an eye stye feel free to try using a warm compress as your initial line of eye stye treatment. As always, if the stye gets worse or isn't getting better after a few days, get it examined by a doctor.