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The Merck Manual--Second Home Edition logo
 
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Chapter 228. Eyelid and Tear Gland Disorders
Topics: Introduction | Dacryostenosis | Dacryocystitis | Eyelid Swelling | Blepharitis | Stye | Chalazion | Entropion and Ectropion | Eyelid Tumors
 
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Stye

A stye (hordeolum) is an acute infection of one or more of the glands at the edge of the eyelid or under it.

A stye is usually caused by a staphylococcal infection. An abscess forms and tends to rupture, releasing a small amount of pus. A stye usually lasts 2 to 4 days. Styes sometimes form simultaneously with or as a result of blepharitis. A person may have one or two styes in a lifetime, but some people develop them repeatedly.

A stye usually begins with redness, tenderness, and pain at the edge of the eyelid. Then a small, round, tender, swollen area forms. The eye may water, become sensitive to bright light, and feel as though something is in it. Usually, only a small area of the eyelid is swollen, but sometimes the entire eyelid swells. Often a tiny, yellowish spot develops at the center of the swollen area.

Rarely, a stye forms in one of the deeper glands of the eyelid, a condition called an internal stye. The pain and other symptoms are usually more severe with an internal stye. Pain, redness, and swelling tend to occur in just a very small area, usually at the edge of the eyelid.

Although antibiotics are sometimes used to treat styes, they do not really help much. The best treatment is to apply hot compresses for 10 minutes several times a day followed by a gentle eyelid massage. The warmth helps the stye come to a head, rupture, and drain. Because an internal stye rarely ruptures by itself, a doctor may have to open it to drain the pus. Internal styes tend to recur.

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