How to recognize and treat a stye

Author:


Mona Adeli, MD

Topics:

• Health and Wellness
• Eye Care

October 25, 2018

Styes on the eyelids are common and can occur in both men and women of all age groups. While styes are not necessarily dangerous, they have the potential of becoming a serious problem.

What is a stye?

A stye, also referred to as a “hordeolum” by eye care providers, is a bump that can form on the eyelid. The eyelid margin, which is the edge of the eyelid, near where the eyelashes grow, contains the eyelash follicles as well as oil glands. A stye develops when there is inflammation of these oil glands, frequently as a result of these glands becoming obstructed or clogged.

Although only rarely, this condition can progress to cause an infection of the tissues around the eye, called cellulitis. A cellulitis potentially can become a serious problem and may require urgent medical evaluation.

What are the symptoms of a stye?

Usually people with styes will notice a bump on their eyelid, and that may be their only symptom. It can be red and tender, and may be associated with swelling of the eyelid. Sometimes the associated eyelid swelling can cause you to have problems with your vision.

Additionally, sometimes people will have a mild irritation of the eye on the affected side. If the stye drains, you may notice this drainage or discharge. With time, the redness and tenderness can sometimes resolve, and you may be left with a painless eyelid bump.

What are the treatments for a stye?

Because styes tend to result from obstructed or blocked oil glands, treatment is usually aimed at unclogging these glands. The mainstay of treatment tends to be performing warm compresses to the eyelids in order to promote drainage of these glands.

Applying a clean, warm washcloth to the eyelids for 10 minutes at a time, several times per day, can be very effective.

Sometimes your eye care provider may prescribe you an eye drop to help decrease the associated inflammation. If they feel that there is an associated infection, they may also recommend an antibiotic, but this isn’t always the case.

Why shouldn’t I squeeze or poke a stye?

This action likely won’t be very effective and will probably only cause the eyelids to become more inflamed and swollen. Additionally, since styes tend to be so close to the eye itself, it can be dangerous to try to squeeze the stye, as you may inadvertently cause injury to the eye.

Whatever you do, definitely keep all sharp objects away from the eye and eyelids, as very serious injuries can occur in these situations.

When should you see a clinician?

If the area is very red and painful, the eye itself hurts or your vision is affected, that would be a good time to see an eye care provider, such as an optometrist or ophthalmologist. If you feel like the stye is progressing, that’s also a reason to see your eye care provider.

While it’s likely the professional will encourage you to keep up with the warm compresses, they may prescribe a drop or oral medication if necessary. In some cases, especially if the stye has been there for several weeks or even longer, it may be necessary to perform an in-office procedure called an incision-and-curettage, to make a small incision in the stye and release its contents.

Why do I keep getting styes?

Some people can be predisposed to developing styes because of chronically clogged oil glands (also known as Meibomian gland dysfunction), or because of debris and bacteria accumulating on their eyelashes and eyelid margin (called blepharitis). Performing warm compresses regularly can promote the normal release of oil from the oil glands, and help prevent these glands from becoming obstructed or clogged.

Performing eyelid washes can be helpful in people with Meibomian gland dysfunction and blepharitis. I typically instruct patients with these problems to put a small drop of baby shampoo on their clean fingertips, create some suds with water and gently wash their eyelashes. It can be helpful to incorporate warm compresses and eyelid washes into your daily routine.

Mona Adeli is an assistant clinical professor of Ophthalmology in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at The Ohio State University.

Visit Ohio State Health & Discovery for more stories on health, wellness, innovation, research and science news from the experts at Ohio State.

Check out health.osu.edu

Causes and Treatments of Styes on Eyelids

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

• What Causes Styes?
• What’s a Chalazion?

It’s a pimple or abscess that forms on your upper or lower eyelid. 

Sometimes the bacteria that normally live on the surface of your eyelid block an oil duct. Then it gets inflamed. Other times, germs and dead skin cells get trapped on the edge of your eyelid.

Most of the time a stye starts as a pimple next to an eyelash. It turns into a red, painful bump that can last several days before it bursts and then heals. Some styes are short-lived and heal on their own. Others may require a doctor’s care.

Styes are usually on the surface of your eyelid and easy to see. But they can form deep inside your eyelid. An internal stye (on the underside of your lid) also causes a red, painful bump. But its location prevents a whitehead from showing up on your eyelid. This type can also go away once the infection is gone. Some leave a small fluid-filled cyst that your doctor will have to cut open and drain.

Usually it’s a combination of a clogged oil gland and a certain type of bacteria. Your body is coated with billions of friendly bacteria that live right along with you. Most of the time there’s no problem. But when conditions are right, the bacteria overproduce and create a pimple.

If the clogged gland that produces the stye never gets better, scar tissue forms around it. The pain goes away but a bump remains. Doctors call that a chronic chalazion (pronounced cha-LAY-zee-yon).

Styes and chalazia (that’s the plural of chalazion) are usually harmless. They rarely affect your eyeball or eyesight. Rarely they can cause severe infections of the face called cellulitis. See your eye doctor for any significant pain or drastic swelling/redness of the whole eyelid. They can happen at any age and tend to come back from time to time, especially in people who have ongoing eyelid irritation (blepharitis) or a skin condition called rosacea.

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Barley: causes, symptoms, treatment

One of the most common eye diseases is stye on the eyelid, a grain-shaped lump that gets its name from the appearance. Styes cause great discomfort, and no wonder: it is an inflammation of the eye, which quickly suppurates and brings pain.

Why does this problem appear, by what symptoms can it be recognized and how to cure it? Let’s talk about everything in order.

Causes of barley on the eye

Streptococci settle on the skin and hair of a person, which do not manifest themselves in any way if your body is sufficiently protected. However, at the same time, they actively multiply and weaken the immune system, eventually affecting the most vulnerable organs.

If bacteria have penetrated the structure of the hair follicle, this will certainly provoke an inflammatory process inside the eyelid or on the eyelash growth line: this is how the eye reacts to a pathogenic microorganism.

In most cases, this happens if you touch your eyes with dirty hands or often be in a dusty room. That is why children often suffer from barley: they are much less likely than adults to monitor whether their palms are clean, especially if they play in a large company.

Also, people who are more likely to develop this disease include:

• owners of reduced immunity;

• people with diseases of the endocrine system;

• those who suffer from gastrointestinal pathologies;

• workers who spend a lot of time outdoors or indoors with difficult climatic conditions;

• patients who have already been treated for infectious eye diseases, but have not completed the course.

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Barley symptoms

Speaking about barley and how it manifests itself, they first of all remember a bump with pus accumulated inside. The skin around this grain usually becomes hot and inflamed and painful to touch. However, the seal, as a rule, itches, so the sensations are doubly uncomfortable.

However, these are not all symptoms – for example, in some cases, a bump occurs inside the eyelid and affects the meibomian gland. Then the grain is not visible, but the eyelid becomes swollen, and touching also causes pain.

If the barley is localized around the sebaceous gland, this is a more severe case, which is accompanied by other signs. Among them:

• headache and muscle pain;

• fever, fever;

• swollen lymph nodes.

How barley is formed

Before thinking about how to treat barley, you need to determine at what stage this disease is in your case. There are only four stages in the development of barley:

• infiltration – the eyelid turns red, swells, begins to itch. In the next few hours, these sensations intensify;

• suppuration – the same grain with purulent contents appears on the surface of the eyelid, which can break through prematurely if too much has accumulated;

• breakthrough of a purulent capsule – the barley either bursts itself, or the surgeon opens it. The contents of the capsule depart for several days;

• healing – a crust forms at the site of the ulcer, under which a thin layer of restored skin grows.

It’s hard to say how long barley goes through: each case is individual, and the healing process directly depends on whether you followed the doctor’s recommendations exactly. The term varies from several days to several weeks.

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What to do if the barley has healed, but the bump remains after?

This means that now the patient no longer has barley, but a chalazion – a cystic formation on the inside of the eyelid. Such a disease also occurs on its own, affecting the meibomian gland, but in the event that you have started barley, such a complication should be expected.

The chalazion causes quite severe discomfort and requires a long treatment, therefore, having noticed that the bump does not go away, do not try to get rid of it at home – immediately go to the doctor.

Is barley contagious?

Usually there is nothing to fear – as a rule, no one climbs into the eyes of the interlocutor, especially if he has just touched the barley. However, there are situations that should be taken into account: for example, some from time to time use someone else’s cosmetics, including for the eyelids.

If you took the shadows or mascara of a person who has recently had barley, the risk of infection is as high as possible, so you should refrain from this.

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What is the problem if barley occurs quite often?

Frequent barley is an obvious sign that something is wrong with the body, so in this case, you will need a diagnosis. This disease itself is quite easy to determine, but with the cause that caused it, you will have to spend a little more time.

If you often suffer from barley, this may indicate:

That is why it is worth going through a complete examination of the body and finding out why health problems are expressed in this form – perhaps the matter is much more serious than it seems.

How to get rid of barley?

There are many folk remedies that many continue to rely on, but to think that they really help with barley, and even more so to use them, is a big mistake.

If you feel discomfort in the area of ​​​​the eyelid, and soon it turns red and swollen, immediately make an appointment with a specialist. He will prescribe you drops, barley ointment, or any other drug that will absolutely help get rid of the grain. Prescribing your own medicines is just as bad an idea as home treatment.

Take care of your health as early as possible – and getting rid of the disease will take a matter of days!

Signs of barley on the eye: symptoms and what to do

Barley (hordeolum) is an acute purulent inflammatory disease of the eyelid. The focus of inflammation is localized in the sac of the eyelash or the sebaceous gland of its bulb. This pathology should be given special attention, as it may indicate a decrease in overall immunity.

In the human body, there is a conditionally pathogenic microflora, which is not the cause of diseases during the normal functioning of the immune system. As soon as the protective functions of the body are reduced, the microflora is activated and becomes the cause of various pathological conditions, for example, barley. Gordeolum at 90% of cases are caused by a bacterial pathogen – Staphylococcus aureus. According to statistics, most often barley is diagnosed in the age range from 20 to 50 years, but its manifestations are also frequent in childhood. Pathology at least once manifested itself in 90 people out of 1000.

Barley classification

Typically, barley in adults and children is divided into external and internal, based on the site of the inflammatory process.

1. External.

It is characterized by the appearance of an abscess on the outer side of the upper or lower eyelid with a white abscess at the top. Over time, the abscess matures and opens. After this, tissue regeneration begins: most often, within a few days, there is no trace of inflammation.

It usually affects the glands of Zeiss and Moll. The sebaceous glands of Zeiss are located in pairs around each follicle, into which they secrete their secret. Moll’s sweat glands are located there, their function has not yet been fully elucidated.

Features of outdoor barley:

• More common than internal
• The cause of the appearance is infection of the follicles of the eyelashes or glands that are located at the edge of the eyelids
• Infection spreads to nearby tissues
• There is a risk of sore or abscess at the margin of the eyelid.
• Place of localization – external, visible surface of the eyelid

Primary signs:

• Eyelid hyperemia (redness)
• Puffiness
• Pain, tingling in affected area
• Lachrymation

The onset of the disease can be almost asymptomatic. At the height of inflammation, the infiltrate bursts, the purulent contents come out for a few more days. After that, the pain subsides and the healing process begins.

2. Internal.

Features:

• Place of localization – lobules of the meibomian glands located in the cartilaginous plate of the eyelid (their secret is involved in the formation of the lipid layer of the tear film covering the ocular surface and the inner part of the eyelids)
• Inflammation located inside the eyelid
• More painful course
• Easy to diagnose

Symptoms:

• Pain
• Edema
• Increased lacrimation
• Foreign body sensation in eye

On the inside of the eyelid, you can see a hyperemic area with a yellowish center. The inner barley is usually more painful than the outer one and takes longer to ripen.

Ripened internal barley is opened into the conjunctival sac. With an unfavorable course of the disease, a chalazion may form at the site of barley – a chronic inflammation of the cartilage and gland area, in which the gland duct is clogged and the secret cannot come out. The chalazion looks like a dense, hyperemic ball ranging in size from millet grain to a pea. This condition requires mandatory treatment under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.

In rare cases, the formation of barley – both internal and external – may be accompanied by general malaise, fever, aching joints, muscle and headache, swollen lymph nodes located near the affected eye. Usually such a reaction of the body indicates a complicated course of the disease. If you notice the first symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Main stages of barley:

• Infiltration. At this stage, itching, swelling, hyperemia appear. At first, the symptoms are mild, then the discomfort intensifies.

• Suppuration. At this stage, the formation can turn into an elastic purulent capsule.

• Breakthrough. The purulent capsule breaks through on its own. If this does not happen, the barley is opened by the surgeon. For several days, pus will separate from the area of ​​\u200b\u200binflammation.

• Healing. The duration of the stage ranges from several days to weeks. A crust forms at the site of the former inflammation, then a new layer of tissue forms under it. After the regeneration is completed, the crust disappears on its own.

Causes of barley

The causes leading to the onset of the disease include:

• Non-observance of hygiene rules
• Using someone else’s or expired cosmetics, dirty brushes and applicators
• Untreated Demodex
• Long stay in a dusty, dirty room
• Vitamin deficiency
• Colds, hypothermia, reduced immunity
• Constant stress
• Diabetes mellitus
• Obesity
• Worm infestation
• Chronic infection

Often the inflammatory process occurs after rubbing the eyes with dirty hands.

Diagnostics

When symptoms of barley appear, an ophthalmologist’s consultation is required. A visual examination of the eye is performed with eversion of the eyelids under lateral illumination. Additional diagnostics are not required.

With often recurrent barley, consultations with an endocrinologist, gastroenterologist and dermatologist are necessary, as well as additional diagnostics:

• Glucose testing (blood and urine)

• Glucose tolerance test
• Eyelash examination for Demodex
• Examination of feces for helminth eggs
• Bacteriological examination of a smear from the conjunctiva to identify the pathogen
• Blood culture for sterility

In rare cases, the formation of barley, both internal and external, may be accompanied by general malaise, fever, aching joints, muscle and headache, swollen lymph nodes located near the affected eye. Usually such a reaction of the body indicates a complicated course of the disease.

Treatment

Often, barley ripens on its own and opens within a week. The disease without complications does not require medical intervention. To quickly get rid of discomfort, you can resort to warming compresses: 3-4 times a day, apply a towel soaked in warm water or a heated towel to the inflamed area. Compresses with aloe juice, decoction of St. John’s wort, chamomile can also help.

During the period of illness, careful hygiene of the eyelids is especially important: with increasing discharge, the eyes should be cleaned of crusts and pus with sterile wipes and boiled water.

The specialist may prescribe:

• A course of antibiotics for the treatment of chalazion, phlegmon or in case of frequent occurrence and severe course of the disease.
• Local anesthetics, antiseptics, glucocorticoids.
• Ultra-high frequency therapy.
• Removal of an eyelash around which a stye has formed.
• Surgical removal of barley under local anesthesia. If the inflammation is too great and the treatment is ineffective, the surgeon will open the abscess and clean it of the accumulated pus.

The treatment of barley with folk remedies is also popular. Although they work, a standard treatment regimen will include:

• Drops. They fight the cause of inflammation – microorganisms, and prevent the recurrence of the disease. It is necessary to drip 5-6 times a day.
• Eye ointments. They have a long period of influence. Apply in the evening.
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be given to relieve inflammation and discomfort.
• At the stage of infiltration, physiotherapy is the preferred treatment. For a course lasting 6-7 days, microwave and UHF therapy can remove signs of inflammation.

Strictly prohibited self-squeezing of barley. A harmless pathology with this approach can lead to life-threatening complications.

It is also not necessary to select antibiotics on your own.

Barley complications

Untreated barley or an incorrectly selected treatment regimen can lead to a number of unpleasant consequences:

• Conjunctivitis is a bacterial infection that causes purulent discharge and redness. Treatment of the disease is long and complicated.
• Thrombophlebitis – inflammation of the walls of the veins. With such a pathology, the eyes and the area around are hyperemic, migraine, visual impairment and general fatigue are observed.
• Phlegmon of the orbit – suppuration caused by the fusion of several abscesses. Phlegmon occurs when the patient tries to squeeze out the abscess on their own. Signs testify to the presence of suppuration: swelling of the eyelids, blurred vision, discomfort in the eye area, drooping of the upper eyelid, etc. If you suspect a phlegmon of the orbit, an immediate appeal to a specialist is required.
• Meningitis. A complication occurs when untreated barley has caused phlegmon. Usually this pathology precedes the development of meningitis. This complication can lead to death! With a severe headache and a temperature above 39 degrees, you should immediately consult a doctor.
• Thrombosis of the vascular plexus is a rare and dangerous pathology that leads to the cessation or slowing of the outflow of fluid from the orbit. Symptoms include: protrusion of the eyes, loss of vision, redness, pain, cyanosis and severe swelling of the eyelid.
• Sepsis is a complication of blood poisoning that threatens a person’s life. Sepsis is diagnosed in the early stages. It is characterized by symptoms such as low blood pressure, chills, a rash on the body, rapid heartbeat and breathing.
• Chalazion – the formation of a cyst located at the site of the sebaceous glands and quickly filled with fluid. The chalazion looks like a dense, hyperemic ball ranging in size from millet grain to a pea. This condition requires mandatory treatment under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.