Helpful Tips To Reduce The Likelihood Of Developing An Eye Strain

So many of us have been there. 

You have a long, sleepless night - and finally lie down to catch an hour or two of shut-eye before you have to head into the office.

When you wake up, you look in the mirror, and notice a large, painful bump on the side of your eyelid. 

It’s not a pimple, but it’s just as annoying (and probably twice as painful). You have an eye stye.

Unfortunately, there is sometimes not much you can do to completely prevent an eye stye - nor are there a ton of treatments for this aggravating condition.

However, there are a few simple things you can do to reduce the likelihood of developing an eye strain. Here are some tips.

What is a stye?

A stye is a skin condition that affects your eyes. Styes usually form on the outer part of the lower or upper eyelid. Occasionally, they can also develop somewhat inside the eyelid. These growths look just like large pimples or boils. They are usually filled with pus and tend to develop only in one eye. This kind of eye irritation is incredibly annoying and has a multitude of potential causes - of which lack of sleep is only one. 

Also known as hordeolums, styes develop when one of the glands that produces oil inside your eye becomes infected. The oil glands in your eyes are extremely important, as they help lubricate your eyes and to shield them from infection.

Although a stye can be caused by many factors, the one thing that all styes have in common is that they are caused by the Staphylococcus bacteria. Believe it or not, it is not difficult for this bacteria to get inside your eye. 

If you wear contact lenses, apply makeup, or just tend to touch your eyes a lot during the course of a day, it is very easy for these harmful bacteria to get inside.

Styes can be tough for doctors to diagnose in some cases, as they are frequently mixed up with chalazions. Chalazions look a lot like styes but usually form further back on your eyelids. These growths are not caused by bacterial infections but instead form when your oil glands get completely clogged for other reasons.

There are several symptoms you might experience when you are suffering from an eye strain. For starters, you’ll notice that you have redness, pain, and tenderness around the base of your eyelash (although the location can vary). Occasionally, your entire eyelid or eye will swell up as well, depending on the intensity of the infection.

Are Styes Caused by Stress?

Many people assume that styes are caused by stress. Although there are some connections between the two, they are not directly linked.

You’re not to blame if you don’t believe this! If you always get a stye when you’re stressed out, the reason is simple. There are lots of eye doctors who report that not getting enough sleep and being overly stressed can increase the risk of styes.

The reality is that stress weakens your immune system. That’s why you always seem to get more colds, flus, and other infections when you’re stressed out. When your immune system is weak, it opens the door for other pathogens to enter and make you sick. That is the case with all kinds of infections, and not just styes.

There are also studies that show that various stress hormones can sometimes be converted to 3, 4-dihydroxymandelic acid, or DHMA, when you are stressed and worn out. This provides a “convenient” entry point for bacteria to get into parts of your body that are more likely to become infected in general. 

Not getting enough sleep because you are stressed (or for any other reason) can have detrimental effects, too. When you don’t get adequate sleep hours, it lowers your immunity - and when you’re tired, your body will be less adept at using its T cells to ward off infection.

Plus, when you’re tired, you are going to be less likely to care for yourself in the ways that can prevent an infection. For example, your exhaustion may make you less likely to remove eye makeup totally, or you may find yourself falling asleep in your contacts. You could even forget to thoroughly wash your hands before you touch your eyes, too.

Home Remedies and How to Get Rid of Them

Luckily, an eye stye doesn’t always require a visit to the doctor’s office. In many cases, you can resolve an eye stye completely without needing any formal medical treatment.

There are some simple tips you should follow to lower the duration and intensity of your infection. For starters, try not to rub your eye stye while it's healing. Make sure you thoroughly wash your hands before touching your eyes, putting on makeup, washing your face, or removing contact lenses.

As a general precaution, you may want to avoid wearing contacts or makeup until your stye has completely healed.

There are other home remedies you can follow to expedite the healing of your eye stye, too. For example, you may want to try putting a warm, wet compress against your eye. This can not only provide relief from the pain and itchiness, but it can also ease inflammation and swelling and drain the infection, too.

There are tear-free shampoos you can buy to cleanse your eyelids, too. These will help remove bacteria and, in many cases, can also bring your swelling down. You might want to try using a basic saline solution on the problematic eye as well. This can break down the bacterial membranes that are so irritated and prevent further infection.

If your stye is causing you unbearable amounts of pain, consider taking an over-the-counter medication to ease your suffering. Good options including ibuprofen or acetaminophen. 

Keep in mind that the bacteria that causes eye styes is found in your nose. It is easy to transfer when you rub your nose or your eye. Styes are highly contagious, so you can spread them to others. This can be done by direct contact with an infected person, but it can also be caused by sharing bedsheets, pillowcases, washcloths, or cosmetics, too.

How to Prevent a Stye

While treating a stye is relatively easy with the tips mentioned above, as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! By following a few simple steps, you may be able to reduce the likelihood of getting a nasty eye stye - or of making one worse.

For starters, make sure you wash your hands as well as possible before you touch your eyes. At a bare minimum, you should use warm water, but washing with warm, soapy water is ideal.

You should thoroughly disinfect your contact lenses, too. Don’t use lenses that haven’t been cleanedDon’t sleep in contact lenses or reuse contact lenses that are meant to be worn only once. Try not to use contacts that you have worn past the recommended date, either.

You should avoid touching your eyes if you haven’t washed your hands. You also should aim for around seven to eight quality sleep hours each night. While this isn’t always possible, you should aim to get as much sleep as possible to reduce your likelihood of getting a stye.

If you find that your lifestyle constantly gets in the way of getting good sleep, consider preventative measures that will help you cut down on the stress that your day to day routine is causing. Is there anything that you can laminate from your hectic schedule? Can you manage your stress with things like yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises?

Try to get into a good routine when it comes to taking care of yourself. Try to find time for doing things you enjoy, and make sure you eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise, too.

Finally, remember that you should change your sheets and pillowcase frequently. This will help reduce the amount of bacteria that your eyes come into contact with. You should avoid sharing cosmetics with other people and try not to use old or expired cosmetics, too. Always remember to take your eye makeup off when you are sleeping!

As tempting as it may be, never try to pop a stye like you would a pimple. Not only will this cause you a lot of pain, but it can spread the bacteria to other parts of the eyelid - it will only make the situation worse. Just be patient and keep applying a warm compress. Ideally, you should put a warm compress on the eye for about fifteen minutes, up to four times each day. 

Just be careful when you use the warm compress. Make sure you track the water temperature when you dampen the washcloth. It shouldn’t be so hot that it burns the sensitive skin around your eye or causes any more eye irritation. You also don’t want to use anything to cover the eye stye unless the boil has completely drained.

If you do cover your eye stye - after the boil has drained, of course - you should use gauze or a sterile bandage to prevent further infection. 

The stye will rupture on its own when it has begun to heal - it’s easier said than done, but try to be patient! If this situation gets worse after two weeks - or shows no signs of improvement - a visit to your doctor might be in order. You may need more intensive treatment to get rid of your stye for good.

Seek Professional Healthcare Advice

Most eye styes clean rap on their own and don’t require any professional medical advice, especially when you follow the self-care tips above. However, there are some circumstances that warrant a visit to your healthcare professional. 

For example, if you find that your redness and swelling continue to worsen, you’ll want to visit a walk-in clinic. Going to an emergency room is usually not necessary, but if your stye is causing unbearable pain, you may need to make the trip.

Usually, a doctor can figure out what the problem is just by a basic eye examination. Styes are normally caused by a bacterial infection, so often, your doctor will prescribe antibiotic creams or eye drops that you can use directly on the affected area.

If the infection has progressed and you have other signs that the infection is spreading to other areas, you might be prescribed a heavier-duty antibiotic in pill form. Very rarely, your doctor will lance a stye that is irritating your eye, too. This is often done when the stye is causing problems with your vision, has become very painful, is bleeding, or is located on the inside of your eyelid.

Despite this, take comfort in knowing that styes usually don’t cause vision problems and will heal on their own in just a few days to weeks. A stye might not look great, but it will pass. Don’t try to put eye makeup on to cover a stye. This will only spread the bacteria to other parts of your eyes. Instead, slap on a pair of stylish glasses or sunglasses - that should help you cover it up.

Get Some Shut-Eye and Reduce The Lack Of Sleep For A Healthy Lifestyle

There’s no direct evidence connecting lack of sleep or even stress to eye styes. One does not directly link to the other. However, there is strong evidence that suggests that eye styes are more likely if you suffer from a lack of sleep. 

Why? Stress and too-little sleep both impact your immunity. When the immune system isn’t working to the best of its ability , you are much more likely to develop an infection. A stye is an example of an infection, so it makes sense that styes would be more likely when you’re sleep-deprived.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can prevent and treat a stye at home. Although eye styes are definitely not any fun to deal with, they shouldn’t cause you any more stress or lack of sleep.

So get some shut-eye, take care of yourself, and relax -  your eye stye will likely take care of itself with time!

Karen A Mulvey is a personal social blogger and mom with 14 years of experience in the every day world of motherhood and sustainable product research. Karen is on a mission to help everyday families select sustainable, non-toxic organic products, stop stressing about uncertainties on sustainable home goods and apparel, and start living the life they’ve always wanted.

Follow Karen at @karenAmulveycs | Karen A Mulvey

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