Avoid Stye Medicine

I saw a patient this week with an unusually large stye, which is a bump on the eyelid, more accurately called either a chalazion or hordeolum. When I asked if he had been using any medication he indicated he had applied "Stye" ointment to the eyelid a few times. Out of the 5 or 6 worst styes I have examined, every single one of them had used a topical ointment called "Stye." After the first couple of times I had decided to warn people away from the treatment, but after this last one I decided to do some more research.

It turns out that in the small print Stye admits it is not a treatment, only an ointment to reduce symptoms. More importantly, this ointment consists only of mineral oil and white petrolatum, which means it is essentially Vaseline. Anyone who has ever treated styes knows that about the worst thing you can do is cover it with ointment, even medicated ointment, which this is not. So I strongly discourage anyone from purchasing any over the counter stye medication, but especially the one named "Stye."

The correct treatment for a typical stye is to apply warm compresses for a few minutes several times a day and don't attemt to break open the stye as that may cause infection. If pain increases or the stye remains then visit your eye doctor who will have additional treatment options. Trust me when I say that if you have any questions or concerns your eye doctor will always be happy to see you!

Sweet visions,
Eric Stamper, O.D.
Visionary Eyecare Center
www.visionary-eye.com