Styes: An Eyesore
Chances are, you’ve heard the word stye once in your life; but do you know what a stye actually is? If not, keep reading to learn something new today. And if you’re already familiar with styes, you can also keep reading for a refresher!
The medical term for a stye is a hordeolum. A stye refers to an inflamed oil gland within the eyelid. Inflammation can be due to physical obstruction of the oil glands and/or due to the bacterial flora or mites on the eyelids. Styes commonly appear as a red, swollen, nodule/bump; however, appearance can vary depending on whether the affected oil gland is on the inner or outer part of the eyelid. It can present on the upper and/or lower eyelid and is typically located either near the eyelash base or the midportion of the eyelid. It could appear as one localized bump or as diffused swelling of the entire lid. Additionally, there may be milky discharge associated with it.
The common symptoms of a hordeolum, or stye, is redness, swelling, tenderness and pain upon touch. Additional symptoms can include discharge/pus, crusting of the eyelids, teary eyes, and light sensitivity. Styes can occur to patients of all ages. Some ocular diseases that can increase risk of developing a stye include meibomian gland dysfunction, blepharitis, and ocular rosacea. Although patients often consider styes as an eyesore (pun intended) they are often easy to treat and have a good prognosis. First line of treatment includes lid hygiene which can be done with lid wipes, baby shampoo, and/or an eye-approved hypochlorous spray. Additionally, we recommend frequent warm compresses and lid massages to help unclog and drain the nodule. For more stubborn styes, it may be necessary to start an antibiotic-steroid eye drop and/or oral antibiotics. Styes are expected to resolve within 1-2 weeks of treatment. We encourage continuing warm compresses and great lid hygiene even after resolvement to prevent recurrence.
Hordeolums, or styes, are diagnosed with a thorough case history and slit lamp evaluation. Although styes can be fairly common, it is important to have it checked by your eye doctor to rule out more scary causes of eye lumps and bumps. Differential diagnosis for similar-appearing lid bumps include but are not limited to chalazions, preseptal cellulitis, oil gland cysts, herpes simplex/zoster infection, and gland carcinoma. Therefore, if you ever develop lid tenderness or notice a bump forming on your eyelid please come in to have us check it out!!