An inflamed eyelid is painful and disfiguring. With these four tips you speed up the healing process and prevent a new inflammation.
A stye in the eye – in medical terms a hordeolum – is a swelling on the inside or outside of your eyelid, caused by an inflammation of a sweat gland or sebaceous gland. This often becomes a small pimple with a pus head. When the pimple breaks through, the swelling and pain will disappear on its own.
The best thing you can do is leave the pimple alone. Trying to squeeze or press on it can make the inflammation worse. If the pressure is high enough, the pimple will break out on its own. This often happens after a few days. After breaking open, the pimple dries up and heals.
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A stye in your eye can sometimes be painful. You can try to speed up the healing process by softening the skin with warm compresses, so that the pimple can break through more easily.
Soak a clean handkerchief or washcloth in warm water and hold it against the pimple for about fifteen minutes. Repeat this two to three times a day.
Is the inflammation still not gone after a few days and the swelling and redness not diminishing? Then it is wise to have your doctor look at it. He or she can make an incision in the hordeolum and remove the debris, if the abscess is ripe. After this, the pain immediately subsides and the swelling has also disappeared.
Your eyelid will be numbed locally. The incision is made in the pus head of the swelling, if possible on the inside of your eyelid. Take someone with you who can take you home safely, because after this treatment your eye is usually covered with bandage for a few hours.
Inflammations in sweat or sebaceous glands are caused by bacteria. These settle in a gland, multiply and so the outlet of a sweat or sebaceous gland eventually becomes blocked. To combat bacteria and prevent a new stye, it is wise to keep your eyelids as clean as possible.
Boil some water and let it cool. Rinse your inflamed eye twice a day with this (dabbing with a cotton pad is also possible). Also try to touch your eyes as little as possible, wash your hands regularly and change your towels and bed linen regularly. Above all, do not use other people's eye make-up and replace your own every six months.
Photo:Getty Images
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