Most styes heal on their own within one to two weeks, but warm compresses can speed things up significantly. A stye is a small, painful bump on or inside your eyelid caused by a bacterial infection in an oil gland or hair follicle. The good news is that the most effective treatment is something you can do at home right now.
Warm Compresses Are the Best Treatment
The single most important thing you can do for a stye is apply a warm, moist compress to the affected eye for 5 to 10 minutes, 3 to 6 times a day. The heat increases blood flow to the area and helps the blocked gland open and drain naturally. Use a clean washcloth soaked in warm (not hot) water, and reheat it as it cools during the session.
Don’t heat a wet cloth in the microwave. It can develop hot spots that burn the delicate skin of your eyelid. Instead, run the cloth under warm tap water or dip it in a bowl of warm water. Some people find that a clean sock filled with dry rice and microwaved for 20 seconds holds heat longer, but a warm washcloth works perfectly well.
After each compress session, you can gently massage the area around the stye with clean fingers. This encourages the clogged gland to drain. Be gentle. You’re coaxing it, not forcing it.
Don’t Pop or Squeeze It
It might look like a pimple, but squeezing a stye is a bad idea. Popping it can push bacteria deeper into the eyelid tissue, leading to a more severe infection, scarring or permanent pigmentation changes on the eyelid, or a scratch on the surface of the eye (corneal abrasion). Let the warm compresses do the work. If the stye needs to drain, it will do so on its own.
What Over-the-Counter Products Actually Do
You’ll find stye ointments, drops, and eyelid scrubs at most pharmacies. It’s worth knowing upfront: no over-the-counter product can treat the underlying infection or make a stye heal faster. These products are designed to manage symptoms like redness, swelling, itchiness, and irritation while your body fights off the infection.
That said, eyelid scrubs and sprays containing hypochlorous acid are a reasonable option. Hypochlorous acid is an antimicrobial disinfectant that can reduce bacteria on the eyelid surface and soothe inflammation. It won’t cure the stye, but it can keep the area cleaner and more comfortable. Artificial tears can also help if the stye is making your eye feel dry or gritty.
External vs. Internal Styes
Most styes form on the outside of the eyelid, right at the base of an eyelash. These external styes develop when bacteria infect a small oil gland that opens into the eyelash follicle. They look like a red, swollen bump along the lash line, and they’re the type that responds best to warm compresses alone.
Internal styes form deeper inside the eyelid, in the larger oil glands embedded in the eyelid tissue. These are often more painful, and you might see a yellowish spot on the inner surface of the eyelid when you flip it. Internal styes can be trickier to treat because topical medications don’t penetrate the eyelid tissue very effectively. If warm compresses don’t resolve an internal stye, your eye doctor may skip topical ointments entirely and prescribe oral antibiotics to deliver a higher concentration of medication to the infection site.
When a Stye Needs Professional Treatment
If your stye is very painful or hasn’t started improving after two days of consistent warm compresses, it’s time to get it looked at. Your doctor may prescribe antibiotic drops or ointment for a stye that’s actively draining, or oral antibiotics for a stubborn internal stye.
In rare cases, a stye can progress to a more serious eyelid infection called cellulitis, which may lead to an abscess (a deeper pocket of pus). If that happens, your doctor may recommend draining it in a sterile setting. This is a quick in-office procedure. No stitches are typically needed, your eyelid may feel sore for a few days afterward, and you can shower and resume normal activities right away. When the drainage is done from the inside of the eyelid, there’s no visible scar.
Sometimes a stye doesn’t fully resolve but instead hardens into a painless bump called a chalazion. If a chalazion persists for more than one to two months, minor surgery to drain it may be necessary.
Keeping Styes From Coming Back
Some people get styes repeatedly, and the culprit is usually bacteria building up along the eyelid margin. A few simple habits can break the cycle.
- Wash your eyelids regularly. Baby shampoo diluted with water is an inexpensive, ophthalmologist-recommended option. It’s gentle enough for daily use and effective at removing debris and bacteria from the lash line.
- Remove all eye makeup before bed. Mascara is especially problematic because it clings to lashes and can block the oil glands overnight. Use a clean cotton swab along the base of your eyelashes to get everything off.
- Replace eye makeup every three months. Bacteria grow easily in creamy and liquid cosmetics like mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow. Old products become breeding grounds.
- Apply makeup outside the lash line. Lining the inside rim of your eyelid (waterline) can block the oil glands that keep your tears healthy.
- Never share eye makeup. Not with friends, not with family. Bacterial transfer is the risk.
- Wash your hands before touching your eyes. This applies to contact lens wearers especially, but it matters for everyone.
If you wear contact lenses, make sure you’re cleaning and replacing them on schedule. Old or dirty contacts introduce bacteria to the eye area and increase the risk of styes and other infections. On days when a stye is active, wearing glasses instead of contacts keeps the area cleaner and avoids additional irritation.