Question: I HAVE A STYE RN. HOW DO I GET RID OF IT? THIS IS MY 4TH ONE. MY DOCTOR SAYS TO DO WARM COMPRESS AND EYELID WIPES. THEY ARE NOT WORKING!!

Love this question. When I was seeing patients full time at my private practice, chronic stye & or chalazion flare ups were THE MOST COMMON new patient complaint. So many frustrated patients looking for answers. Here I will discuss why warm compresses and eyelid wipes DO NOT WORK! 

Why Warm Compresses Don't Work

IT'S NOT A STYE OR CHALAZION

Basic is the diagnosis. Eye care routines are created for a diagnosis. If you're self-diagnosing and wrong, well - that's the reason why it's not working. For example, I've had patients home treat a puffy eyelid thinking it was a stye or chalazion, when in fact it was an allergic reaction of the eyelid. 

STUBBORN STYE / CHALAZION

A stubborn stye or chalazion doesn't respond to traditional warm compresses because the body has begun its healing process and the debris bump has become very firm. This usually happens after 4 weeks of initial onset. 

NO EXIT SITE

If the diagnosis is correct, THIS is probably the most likely reason. The body has healed the exit site closed. A common experience is that warm compress will make the eyelid bump go away - only to reappear the next day. 

PASSIVE VERSUS ACTIVE WARM COMPRESS

If you lay on your sofa with a warm towel on your eye, that's a PASSIVE warm compress. If you add some massage with clean fingertips, that's makes it an ACTIVE warm compress. I'm a super fan of ACTIVE warm, rolling, targeted compression. See Focused Eye Roll here.

Why Eyelid Wipes Don't Work

NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO PERFORM

An eyelid wipe cleans the SURFACE of the eyelids. Great, but not ideal for actually draining a stye or chalazion. To properly clean & drain, scrubbing action is needed at the eyelid margin to maintain an open exit site for debris to release.

GOOD FOR PREVENTION

I'm not a fan of eyelid wipes. To me, it's like rubbing in dirt, debris, bacteria, allergens into the eyelids rather than washing them away. Some of my patients love eyelid wipes and for some they can be good for general eyelid hygiene and prevention. But for stye / chalazion draining? - Big. Fat. Zero.

BABY SHAMPOO

Worth mentioning. No dry eye doctor WOULD EVER recommend baby shampoo for washing the eyelids. This is something that was popular over 30 years ago. AI hasn't even caught on. Any eye doctor or lash artist that recommends baby shampoo for washing the eyelids - RUN! Any family MD that does the same - IGNORE! 

The surfactants in baby shampoo are formulated for baby scalp, NOT eyelids. Wrong ingredients. Too harsh for daily eye care.

How to Properly Clean & Drain Stye / Chalazion Eyelid Debris: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

For Stye (with bacterial infection) do steps 1-4

For Chalazion (no infection) do steps  1-3

1) Warm Compress & Massage: Heat is your friend. Use Focused Eye Roll for 30 seconds a day soften and slowly drain debris. Repeat 30 second sessions during the day as needed. Spread the sessions apart so the eyelid skin doesn't become damaged. 

2) Gentle Eyelid Scrub: Add 1 drop of Tea Tree (brown label) or Rosemary (green label) Eyelid & Eyelash Cleansing Oil on Eyelid Margin Scrub Brush. Gently scrub along the eyelid margin to keep an exit site open for debris to drain. The body will want to heal itself. Without an exit site, the debris will likely pop through the eyelid and we don't want that.

3) Foaming Lid Cleanser: Finish the double cleanse Tea Tree (blue label) or SuperGLA (purple label) Eyelid & Eyelash Foaming Cleanser to wash away any drainage material. 

4) Spray it Spotless: Spray Calm or Tea Tree Water Eyelid & Eyelash Spray to keep the area completely spotless. The hypochlorous will clean away bacteria and also work to limit cross-contamination between eyelids.

Cleansing System Tips

Do all the steps once a day before bedtime. These 2 cleansing systems were designed over many years of trial and error with the help of hundreds of my patients. Be consistent. Be diligent. It takes work. Do not skip steps.

When to See Your Optometrist

If you've had a stye / chalazion before - you pretty much know the diagnosis. If it's your first time with a flare up - see your optometrist for the official diagnosis. There are lots of eye problems that seem like a stye / chalazion. There are lots of eye problems where warm compression make the eye problem worse. Knowing is 90% of the battle. 

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