A stye is an
inflammation of the sebaceous glands at the margin of the eyelid, also called a
hordeolum. These bumps, in or around the edge of the eye lid may be painful
and/or annoying, but they are rarely serious.

Styes are caused by a bacterial infection, usually the bacteria grows in the
root (follicle) of the eyelash.

A stye usually starts as
a red bump at the edge of the eyelid. As the stye grows it becomes swollen and
painful. Most styes swell for about three days and then begin to drain.
Sometimes the inflammation and swelling may spread to the area around the eye.

Often, styes go away on their own without treatment, but if it is starting to
effect the surrounding area it is best to start treatment.

Generally speaking, the sooner you start treatment, the sooner the stye goes
away, and you lessen the chance of it turning into a chalazion, more on
chalazions in a later blog.

So, what do you do for a
stye? The best thing for a stye is to apply warm compresses, read my blog from
2/27/2012 for the most convenient
way to apply heat: