How to Get Rid of a Stye Fast?

To get rid of a stye fast, treat it when the first sign of symptoms begin. There is a combination of two treatments that cure a stye within a short time; antibiotics and a warm compress. If the antibiotics and a warm compress are applied in a hurry, it can completely heal a stye overnight or within 24 hours.

The good part: By starting therapy quickly, you can avoid the physical features that accompany a stye, such as eyelid swelling, pain, redness, and a circumscribed abscess. Follow this guide to be rid of a stye in one day or less. 

What is a stye?

To better understand how to get rid of a stye fast, it helps to know what a stye is. A stye, medical term hordeolum, is an inflamed swelling at the edge of an eyelid that grows at a high rate of speed. It appears as a painful red bump on the outside or inside of the eyelid. It often occurs when bacteria gets trapped in the root follicle of an eyelash. When the eyelash follicle becomes infected, it causes blockage to one of the meibomian oil glands inside the eyelid. 

A stye forms when a meibomian gland becomes blocked

Styes typically last 7 to 14 days before the abscess burst or drains. When the swollen area containing the accumulation of pus ruptures, the stye heals rapidly. In some cases, the stye’s pus sac fails to break open, causing the pus to seep from the meibomian gland. If the pus starts leaking through the meibomian gland opening, the stye will heal fast. 

[Left image Stye] - [Right image Chalazion]

Sometimes a stye fails to burst or drain because the meibomian gland becomes severely blocked, and subsequently, a chalazion forms. A chalazion, also known as meibomian gland lipogranuloma, is a localized swelling that resembles a pea-sized lump that’s formed by secretions of the meibomian gland. A chalazion is a unhealed stye that continues to fill with gland oil. So to wipe out a stye fast, the obstructed meibomian gland must be unblocked to allow the abscess matter to drain.

What causes a stye?

Styes are usually caused by staphylococcus bacterial infection. Blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids) increases the risk of developing a stye. Styes are common and most people will suffer from at least one or two during their lifetime.

Styes form when the infection causes a gland to become partially or fully blocked. Poor eyelid hygiene or inflammatory eyelid diseases increase the risk of styes. Other causes of styes include:

• incomplete removal of eye makeup
• sharing infected cosmetics
• high levels of stress
• prolonged viewing of a computer screen
• dry eye condition
• Seborrhea (an inflammatory skin disorder)
• sleep deprivation

It’s interesting to note that prolonged viewing or reading from a computer screen increases the chances of a stye forming. When people spend long periods viewing a digital display, it causes insufficient tear production, abnormal tear composition and excessive tear evaporation. This can cause an oil gland to function improperly. 

Image above: Eye Institute of Florida website
A recent study from the Eye Institute of Florida linked prolonged computer usage to styes. 

How do antibiotics get rid of a stye fast?

Nearly all oral antibiotics prescribed do not help to cure a stye faster or get rid of the symptoms associated with a stye. However, the antibiotic can be a fast and effective way to get rid of a stye. This medicine has a positive and unusual side effect, in which it causes the glands in the eyelid to function properly, encouraging a stye to drain. 

Antibiotic treatment is most effective when taken upon the first symptoms of stye—before the stye matures. Success in eliminating a stye diminishes the longer you wait to start treatment. 

The best time to start taking the medicine is before swelling occurs. However, if the eyelid has already swelled, formed a lump, and is still painful, the antibiotic can still be effective when combined with a warm compress. 

Dosages are usually based on body weight, so consult your physician to determine the correct size of the drug dosage. Most doctors recommend 1 tablet by mouth twice daily for one week, then one tablet every day until the medication is finished. However, when using this medicine to treat a stye, it’s usually only necessary to take the medication for 1 or 2 days since the antibiotic eliminates the stye fast. 

This antibiotic can cure a stye in 24 hours or less if taken at the first sign of symptoms, and within 48 hours if the stye was a few days old before medication began. 

How-to use a warm compress to rid a stye?

A warm compress is another fast way to get rid of a stye, especially when combined with antibiotic treatment. A warm compress helps to open the gland and encourage drainage. It also liquifies the abscess matter so it drains more efficiently. 

But be warned, a warm compress can also cause a new stye to arise. A warm compress often causes new styes to form by aggravating adjacent glands that may already be dysfunctional. To reduce the risk of multiple styes, do not apply to much pressure to the stye with the compress. This is another reason why oral antibiotics should be combined with a warm compress for the treatment of styes.

1. Acquire a clean pad of absorbent material, such as wash cloth or piece of flannel, and fold it into a square shape. 
2. Turn on a water faucet and allow the water to reach a comfortably high temperature. Make sure the water is not very hot to where the heat could cause injury to the eyeball. The water temperature should be just hot enough for the skin to tolerate. 
3. Soak the compress, then twist it slightly to force out the excess water. 
4. Close the eye and apply the compress directly over the surface of the stye, but do not press down on the stye with to much force. 
5. Keep continuous contact on the stye with the warm compress until the heat has dissipated, then reheat the compress. 
6. Therapy should last for 8 minutes. Use the compress at least 5 times daily.  

Time is of the essence when treating a stye. Medical care must be applied lickety-split to avoid long-term complications. Waiting till morning or postponing therapy can result in a stubborn stye that last for two weeks or a chalazion that remains for a year. Follow the guide outlined and you’ll be on the fast-track to ridding yourself of the troublesome and unwanted stye. 

Summary

If you suspect a stye is developing, you should immediately:

1. Go to a pharmacy and get this antibiotic. Be sure to consult with your physician before use. 
2. Start applying a warm compress directly to the stye 5 times a day (or more) for 8 minutes each session.

The combination of two treatments is the fastest way to clear a stye because it is effective at unclogging a blocked gland.