Home Remedies For Styes

Home remedies for styes. These are painful bumps that emerge on the eyelashes, eyelids or under the eyelids. Styes can be very irritating and painful. These bumps may last for well over 2 weeks, becoming a serious pain in the eyes. One can use natural things to get rid of stye fast.

What is an Eye Stye ?
It is just a pimple, actually an infection caused at the sebum producing gland of the eyes ( sebaceous glands ). They are located along the hair follicles. So, you see that stye most often occurs near the eyelashes. However, it can actually occur anywhere on the eyelid.

Symptoms of a stye
You can actually feel a stye coming up even before it has taken its mature form. If you apply home remedy at that time, the stye may never come up, and you are saved a lot of discomfort.

The first signs of an eye stye.
If the stye is not treated quickly, it becomes a huge pimple which causes significant trouble. Also the recovery time increases a lot. 

Although a stye resolves itself in about 2 weeks, you can get rid of it in 3 days by using these home remedies. 


                                                                                                              ( Photo Courtesy: richardnorth )

Natural remedies for home stye treatment.  

 1. Ear Wax ( Seriously ! )
I know that this is the most ridiculous and surprising home remedy for anything, but it actually works for a lot of people. Some of them, have even found their stye completely vanish the next morning. So, it is so powerful that a stye can be healed overnight. All that discomfort just gone. This is how you can use it.

Ingredients
Cotton bud
Directions / How to use
Take some ear wax out of your ear using the cotton bud. Don't go deep into the ear. If you don't have ear wax, then don't force with this remedy. When you have gotten some ear wax, gently place it right over the stye. You would need mirror and good lighting to do this.
Why it works ? 
Perhaps the ear wax has some antibacterial properties that kill bacteria proliferating in the stye, just like it does inside the ear. Wax is formed when dirt sticks to an oily secretion from inside the ear. This natural oily secretion has got antibiotic properties that prevent our ear.

"Avoid using it for stye inside the eyelid."




2. Salt water
Add a pinch of salt in a glass of water. Cool this solution and then wash the inside of the eyes. Then, rinse with even cooler water.

Pinch of salt in clean water acts as a cleansing agent. It takes away a lot of dirt and exudate from the infection. Salt also has antibacterial property. It reduces swelling and makes you feel better.

If the stye is already big and painful, add 1 teaspoon of salt to a glass of water. Do not add more salt than this.

Do this 3 times a day for considerable relief from the symptoms.





3. Wash with baby shampoo 
The best thing about baby shampoo is that it does not cause tears in the eyes and does not irritate it. So, there is hardly any problem if it goes in the eyes. Mix some baby shampoo in warm water and wash eyes with it. After some time, wash eyes with cold water. Do not use this process many times.

Baby shampoo is good for stye under the eyelids. All you have to do is just take a bath and use baby shampoo instead. Some of that water goes into the eyes and performs the stye healing action.

It is important to clean the eyes thoroughly after washing with baby shampoo, so that there is no residual shampoo left.





4. Finger Power 
This is a home remedy that I was taught when I was a child, and it does provide some assistance. This is how it works. Take your little finger ( as it is slightly thin ) and rub it against the palm of opposite hand. Rub till it becomes hot Then place the finger right over that stye. Keep the finger there till it cools down.

What you are actually doing is transferring heat to the stye. This prevents the infection from growing, and also promotes it to drain out.





5. Turmeric with Milk
This is one remedy where you don't have to apply anything on the stye. This works from the inside. Turmeric with milk is a popular remedy in India for lots of conditions.

Ingredients
Turmeric
Milk ( with fat, not skimmed )
Directions / How to use
Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric in a whole glass of warm milk. Then drink it when it is warm. It has the ability to induce sleep. So, drink it preferably at night time. When you wake up next morning, you can see some reduction in the stye, less inflammation ( redness ) and less discomfort in the eye. Keep drinking this milk till the stye disappears.
Why it works ? 
Turmeric has powerful anti-inflammatory and some antibiotic properties. Its main ingredient "curcumin" is absorbed better in combination with fats, which are found in milk.





6. Potato slice
Take a slice of potato and place it on the eyelid from the outside. Use a cloth to tie it to the eye by taking the cloth all around the head. Potato reduces the size of the stye.

Ingredients
Potato
Cloth
Directions / How to use
Slice the potato into small thin slices. Cut them further to suit the size of your eyes. Cool them a bit in the refrigerator. Then place a slice on each eye, and hold them in place using a cloth bandage. Now, relax for a few minutes, or even hours with this in place. When you unwrap it, there should be considerable relief from the pain, swelling and redness. The stye depresses on its own because of the beneficial properties of potatoes.

Do this 1 - 2 times a day.





7. Garlic ( best home remedy for an eye stye )
This is a really very powerful home remedy for a stye. It is simple to perform, and shows great results. The only drawback is that garlic stings like anything, I mean like the most hurting eye drops you have used. But, that is what people are willing to endure to get rid of a stye.

Ingredients
A garlic clove
Directions / How to use
Peel off the garlic clove. Now cut it in half. You expose the inner flesh of garlic. Now, hold the half garlic clove close to the eye and place the exposed surface right on the stye. Keep it there for 10 - 15 seconds. Then take off the clove and close your eyes. It can sting a lot. Avoid watering the eyes if you can bear the pain. Try to relax and blink the eyes. Throw away that garlic clove.
Use a fresh garlic clove each time. The stye should depress in a few applications.
Why it works ?
Garlic is a strong natural antibiotic. It kills the infection causing bacteria in no time. But the remaining pathogens continuously increase their numbers. So, you need to keep applying this remedy every 4 - 6 hours. This should take care of the stye pretty well.




8. Tea bags
Placing cool tea bags which have been used to make tea can be used on the eyelid. This too helps in reducing the size of the stye.

Plus, black tea bags are the best remedy for dark eye circles. Guess you can take a lot of that benefit. After all, our computers give us those huge baggy, dark eyes !




9. Cool cucumber : Place a slice of cool cucumber over the eye. One may have used this remedy for dark circles under the eyes. Cucumber soothes the eyes and reduces the pain caused by the stye.




10. Coriander Seeds
Take some coriander seeds and place them in a large bowl of warm water overnight. The beneficial nutrients from the seeds seep into the water. Next morning, use this water to wash your face. Keep the rest in the refrigerator. Take it out after 6 hours and again wash your eyes with it.

Do this every day. 2 - 3 washes with coriander seed water should bring the stye down. It is an effective herbal remedy for stye.




11. Chamomile Tea  ( Grandma's remedy )
This is one popular remedy for stye. Prepare a strong tea using chamomile. While it is still warm, dip a cotton ball in the tea. Now, place it right over your eye. It might sting a bit and feel warm. Open your eyes to let the solution go inside the eyes, especially if the stye is inside.

Chamomile has a soothing effect on the skin, prompting it to heal and end the infection.
It might take this remedy some time to show its results, but keep patience. It works and is quite effective at it.





12.  Onion 
Take a slice of fresh onion and place it on the stye. Onion is potent in reducing inflammation and makes the stye lower its inflammation.
But, it too hurts a lot, just like garlic.




13. Cabbage leaf
Take a large cabbage leaf and clean it thoroughly. Clean the eyes too. Now, place this leaf on the eye. Tie this to the eye and keep it overnight. One should experience much less pain in the morning than what was in the night.One can do this treatment as and when required.
Cold cabbage leaf is an effective swelling reducer. It also suppresses the stye.

"A similar effect is witnessed by using guava leaves. "




14. Gold ring
Seems so surprising, isn't it. What you need is a gold ring. First, clean the ring in hot water. Then brush it with an old toothbrush. Your ring would be as good as new . Now, place it over the eye for 3 minutes. Do this 3 times a day.
It is less hassle and may work for you.




15. Good hygiene
This is not technically a home remedy, but this simple advice can help you recover faster from a stye. Follow these tips to get rid of stye fast.




16. Almond oil 
Do not put almond oil in the eyes. Instead, apply it all around the eyes. This oil is very nutritious and helps the skin fight off the stye.
Almond oil alone is not enough. It just improves blood flow to the region so that infection can be treated faster.




17. Castor oil
This awful smelling oil is actually wonderful for the eyes. Apply it on the stye using a cotton swab, just on the stye.

It should get rid of the stye real quick.





What to do for recurring stye infections ?
Some people suffer from chronic stye. They seem to get it every now and then. The cause for this does not lie in hygiene, but perhaps something much deeper. I believe it is somewhat genetic. One seems to inherit this trait and becomes susceptible to these infection.

There is a wonderful remedy for recurring stye infections, which can help one prevent further occurrences. 
18. Bitter gourd tea 
You can get bitter gourd tea bags at a health food store. It may take a lot of searching to do. Once you have it, start drinking 4 cups of bitter gourd tea each day, without fail. Within a few months, it will detox your body brilliantly. This produces some effect which makes the body much less prone to stye.

Drinking ginger tea too helps with sties.



Children often are bogged by sties. Improving the immune response of the body can be helpful in preventing the occurrences of sties.