A sty in the eye will cause an uncomfortable swelling along the eyelid with accompanying redness. Styes are caused by an infection in the eye lash hair follicle or oil gland of the eye. Natural remedies for styes include tea compresses, castor oil, turmeric or activated charcoal.
What Causes a Sty (Stye)?
A sty is a bacterial infection. Staph is commonly the cause of a sty, though it is not the sole bacteria that will cause an eye infection.1 In addition to pain and swelling, a sty presents an immediate cosmetic issue which can be just as disconcerting. Styes will often heal on their own, though it can take up to 10 days. Fortunately natural remedies can heal a sty in as little as 24 hours or less, especially when treatment is started as soon as symptoms of a sty are first noticed.
Home Treatments for a Sty
1. Chamomile Tea
Chamomile fights infection, inflammation, and pain. Simply moisten a chamomile tea bag and hold it against your sty for 15 minutes. Repeat this several times throughout the day. While chamomile is a gentle herb and even a popular children’s herb, if you are allergic to ragweed, avoid the use of chamomile.
2. Green Tea
Green tea bags can be used to relieve a sty as well. The tannins in tea reduce inflammation. As with the chamomile tea bag, use for 15 minutes several times a day.
3. Black Tea
A simple black tea bag often works well for a sty. Again, 15 minutes several times a day. The tannins in the tea, as well as the warmth from the tea bag, reduce the pain, inflammation, and infection.
4. Gold Wedding Band
Wedding bands that are made of gold can be used to treat a sty. It is wise to wash and dry the wedding band before applying it to the sty so that another infection or debris is not introduced into the eye. This will not work with silicone wedding bands, though it may work with a sterling silver wedding band. Simply use the wedding band to rub the sty gently for a few minutes a couple of times each day until the sty resolves. This remedy is compatible with other natural remedies like castor oil or chamomile tea bags.
5. Coconut Oil
Many oils have anti-infective properties. Cold pressed coconut oil is one such oil. Using a clean finger, apply coconut oil to the sty at least twice a day. To avoid getting bedding greasy, cover pillows with a towel when using this remedy at bedtime.
Use only cold processed coconut oil that smells like coconut oil to treat a sty. This oil has powerful antibacterial properties and is also soothing.
6. Castor Oil
Castor oil is commonly used in the eyes for a variety of ills, including cataracts. This healing oil will also fight a sty in many cases. Use hexane free, cold processed oil when using castor oil in or around your eyes.
7. Turmeric
Turmeric reduces inflammation and fights many bacteria, including staph, which is the cause of most styes. Turmeric can be used internally to treat a sty, or it can be used directly on the eye.
To use turmeric internally, add ½ to 1 teaspoon of turmeric to 3 ounces of whole milk or almond milk. This can be used thrice daily to fight styes or other bacterial infections. Before drinking the milk, a drop or two can be applied to the sty.
Turmeric can be used topically, alone to treat a sty. Simply mix 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric into an ounce of water and use the turmeric water as an eyewash three times a day. Make a fresh batch of eyewash each time.
8. Honey
Raw honey is sterile and antibacterial. Apply a few drops of honey to a sty twice daily. It may sting initially, but the sting passes quickly.
9. Charcoal
Activated charcoal will draw out infection from the sty. It also relieves pain and inflammation. This remedy is a great overnight treatment.
Mix ½ teaspoon activated charcoal powder with ½ teaspoon ground flax seed. Put them mixture into an empty tea bag. Thoroughly wet the tea bag and remove excess water. Apply the tea bag poultice to the closed infected eye. Cover the tea bag poultice with plastic wrap. Use a bandanna to keep the poultice and plastic wrap intact for overnight use. Usually, the sty is greatly relieved by morning.
If charcoal poultices are inconvenient, charcoal eye drops can be prepared and used instead.
Mix ½ teaspoon activated charcoal into 4 ounces of pure water. Strain the charcoal water through a coffee filter. Use the resulting water, which will have tiny charcoal particles in it. Add a few drops to the affected eye twice daily. This may be the least messy and most convenient sty remedy, once the eye drops have been prepared.
10. Use Strict Hygiene
- Wash all towels that touch your face during sty treatment in hot water with bleach or white vinegar. Wash your hands well after touching your eyes to avoid spreading infection.
- Do not use makeup that belongs to someone else.
- If you have reoccurring stys, you will need to replace makeup, especially eye make up.
- If chronic stys are a problem, using castor oil to remove eye makeup may alleviate the problem.
- Charcoal eye drops can also be used regularly to prevent reoccurring styes.
What is the Difference between a Sty and Conjunctivitis?
A sty is an infection of an oil gland or eyelash hair follicle in the eye. Conjunctivitis in a bacterial or viral infection of the conjunctiva of the eye.
What is the Difference between a Sty and Blepharitis?
Blepharitis is inflammation of the eyelid, though not necessarily caused by an infection. It tends to be a more chronic problem than a sty. It is commonly associated with allergies or skin conditions like rosacea or dandruff. Some sty treatments like castor oil, charcoal poultices and chamomile tea bags may work quite nicely for blepharitis.
What is the Difference between a Sty and a Chalazion?
A sty is usually quite painful, whereas a chalazion is not generally painful. A chalazion tends to be larger than a sty and further back on the eyelid.
Many sty remedies will work equally as well for a chalazion.
Sty Cautions
While essential oils are strong antibacterials, essential oils should never be used in or around the eyes. Do not use essential oils to treat a sty.
If a sty is not responding to natural remedies or seems to be getting worse instead of better, consult a medical professional.
*Sty is spelled “sty” or “stye.” The medical term for a sty is “hordeolum.” Hordelum is Latin for barley, interestingly.
Do you have a natural remedy for styes? We would love to hear from you! Continue reading to see how our readers have creatively treated their styes with home remedies.
I've been using ACV to treat sties for years. I put ACV in a large spoon, put it up to my closed eye. I hold it there for as long as I can. Then rinse my eyes with water thoroughly afterwards. Be careful not to get in the eye because it stings like the dickens, making you literally cry! But, as soon as you flush it out with water, the sting will be gone. But I'll tell you what, nothing over the counter will heal those sties that fast! Within the day, my eyes feel better. Since using this method, my sty has never gone beyond a day or grown larger! And yes, I learned to use ACV from Earth Clinic. Thank you Earth Clinic, I come to your site very often! You've been my faithful Dr. for years!!
Note: I wanted to clarify my last post.
I've been using ACV to treat sties for years. Bent over the sink, I put a large spoon with ACV in it, up against my CLOSED eye. I'll tilt it a bit making sure I've covered entire eye. I'll hold it there as long as I can-at least a minute. Then rinse my eyes thoroughly with water afterwards. Be careful not to get in the eye because it stings like the dickens, making you literally cry! But, as soon as you flush it out with water, the sting will be gone. To my knowledge, nothing over the counter will heal those sties that fast! Within the day, my eyes feel better. Since using this method, my sty has never gone beyond a day or grown larger! And yes, I learned to use ACV from Earth Clinic. Thank you Earth Clinic, I come to your site often! You've been my faithful doctor for years!!
I am not sure if I have a Stye or a Chalazion. I have a bump on my eyelid that has been there for about 3 weeks. I googled pictures of both and depending on what picture I am looking at it could be either or. About a week ago I started using Black tea bags. I would steep them for 1 minute then let them cool for a minute or so, squeeze out the wetness and I would put the warm black tea bag compress on my eyelid for 10 minutes. I did this 2x a day. I didn't think things were changing much so I got on this sight and read the wedding band remedy. For the last 2 days I have been rubbing my clean wedding ring on my bump for about a minute of so about 4 times a day and I am also using the black tea bags. I use a warm one in the afternoon and keep one in the fridge and I use the cool one before bed for about 10 minutes. I feel like in a couple of days my stye or chalazion will be gone. I am not sure which remedy worked but I didn't start seeing results until I started using the two remedies together.
I tried every single other sty remedy listed here for over 3 weeks, and nothing made the slightest difference until I tried honey. I used manuka honey and DMSO on a q-tip. I applied the honey (which sticks to the spot nicely) morning and evening, and by the next morning, the sty had shrunk to almost nothing overnight. Using DMSO with the honey may not be necessary, but it worked for me.
Gold Wedding Ring/Band 5 min. Sty Cure You're not going to believe one.
"No, it's not going to work," I thought, but like the reply by St Tokyo, Jp said, "it's completely free so why not".
Just to let you know how old I am – I'm a male of 65 years.
The sty came on around 10 a.m. this morning – Checked the net Mixed warm coconut oil and curcumin to make somewhat of a paste. First time left it on for about 15 min., it did sting, but that didn't bother me, The fix is worth the cure, I thought and I still think so.
Anyway, later in the day went out to eat with my wife, came back about 3 p.m. – Put another mass of the paste on my eye. It did get under the eyelid because it did sting a bunch. Never mind that, I thought again, if it fixed me, who cares! Then went to sleep.
Next, I woke up and washed it all off with warm water and a cloth. The whole eyelid and eyeball were as red as can be. The yellow pustule was still there, all though, I have to admit, it had gone down a slight bit. I don't want you to think that the paste did nothing. Just the same the small pus ball was still there.
Personally, I thought that it would have been almost gone by then. Sad to say, but no it wasn't.
In the past I have used the little boric acid trick in boiling water, and cool down, (drops 3 or 4 times a day) and in about 3 days it was gone. It stayed quite red and stung too, but what the hey it was gone and the redness went too a little later after stopping the boric acid.
Ok, now to the { Gold Wedding Ring/Band 5 min. Sty Cure }
I want to say here that I did use the cut onion remedy at my bedside in the night after doing the Wedding Ring thing. – I'm sure the doctors would really laugh at that one and maybe you too.
After washing my eye as noted above and seeing that the little puss ball was still there, using one of those concave mirrors so I could see it better well, this time went to EARTHCLINIC.COM should have gone there first. Found the Gold Wedding Ring trick.
I said, like St Tokyo, Jp said, "Let's do it, it's free! It's not going to kill me." I looked back into the concave mirror one more time just to see if it was still there. Yep, sure enough, the sty was still there.
– Next, I started lightly rubbing the wedding band all over my eyelid (especially by the sty) and pushing the eyelid up with the ring to get under the eyelid as was mentioned by another observer. – I did that for about 5 min then I went back to the mirror (still doubting), just to check and see if this old wives tale was working at all or not. Even a little bit would have made me happy. I was hoping for a, more or less, quick fix; but "ANYTHING would be great right about now", thought I.
Now, I kid you not as to what happened next. Lo and behold it was gone! I'm not joking, the small pustule was completely gone, not even a little bump! No drainage at all! The pus just seemed to be sucked right back up into the body to be swept away by the bloodstream.
I went over to my wife to see if she could see the little pus ball anymore; nop, nada, zip, nothing. Wow! Unbelievable!
Now I must say, there still was a slight, just a wee bit of tenderness where the sty was before. Hum… But that's nothing compared to the pain I was experiencing.
Ok, push comes to shove. What really happened here? Perhaps you're saying, "Maybe it was a combination of the coconut oil and curcumin + the "Gold Wedding Ring".
And yes, I will tell you, "Yep, could be." I don't know. But I will tell you this, the next time this happens, I will go to the #1, most often used home remedy first, if I have it on hand. But, "If I were a betting man", as my dad use to say, "I'd bet a dime to a doughnut", (donuts were cheap in those days) well at least that much anyway, I'd bet that the gold ring trick would have worked right off the bat. Maybe not, who knows.
Why does a gold wedding ring/band get rid of a sty in the eye? Guess nobody knows for sure? Indeed I don't. The Doc's say there is absolutely zero validity to all of this. There are NO properties in this circular gold band/ring thing that could account for this "supposed fix', say they.
However, since it is a fix that has worked for a lot of folks, as can be seen all over the net (and there are plenty), and has worked for generations (parents and grandparents passing it along verbally and now with the advent of the internet, in writing all over the place) one must say there IS something to this. Of course, at the same time you do your search, you must know you will find all the doctors telling you "NO, NO, NO it doesn't work. Don't do this or anything DIY home remedies. We are the ones you must come to."
And then they will give you all the bad things that happen to people that do it at home; of course, mixed in with all that you will find some truths (just to gain your trust) as well as half-truths along with many straight up lies.
One thing you can be sure of is they will not tell about the many 100s of thousands they kill earth-wide directly EACH AND EVERY YEAR using their methods, mistakes or otherwise. And those big numbers, not just the maiming and hurt they do, we're talking about directly and needlessly killing people and information come from THEIR OWN STATS!
Here below is one of many sites on the net regarding this… And know that this website is just in the U.S.A. not the rest of the world. And all of these are just what they admit to.
***
Medical errors may be 3rd leading cause of death U.S. – CNN
edition.cnn.com/2016/05/03/health/medical-error-a-leading…death/index.html
May 3, 2016 – Most medical errors that lead to death aren't recorded…. Medical errors may be third leading cause of death in the U.S……. the doctors estimate there are at least 251, 454 deaths due to medical errors annually in the United States…. Patient accuses Yale doctors of cover-up, removing wrong body part.
Note that it says here, "Most medical errors that lead to death aren't recorded". So what would most be? Let's say minimum 51% would be most and for sure could it could be more. So with most, we could more or less double that number 251, 454. We could be looking at somewhere around a half million lives killed annually.
***
At any rate, getting back to the story. Maybe the circle/ring combined with the gold creates some kind of an electrical charge and maybe this particular electrical charge of gold DOES INDEED have this particular healing property on a sty. Who knows?
However, there are plenty of Doctors and Medical Laboratories around the world that would tell you, "Don't do any of these home remedies, come please, come to US with your heart and your hard earned cash on a platter, and we will gladly take care of you for sure."
Whatever; you're the final judge as to whether you go to the doc or you do it yourself – DIY.
Will this work for you? I don't know. Maybe this one is not a ONE FIX CURE ALL, remedy. But like the person from Japan said, "It's free." If you don't have a gold wedding band maybe a neighbor has one.
Now, here below, are a couple links that I found as to what the doctors are saying about this type of fix. Don't want you to think I'm trying to hide anything from you.
It's all fake, it's just in your mind, don't do it, you're wasting your time, you might hurt yourself, you might even kill yourself; put your trust in the hands of the professionals, we know best.
If it doesn't go away on its own please come and give your hard earned bucks to us and spend your money on our antibiotics which will destroy all good and bad bacteria in your intestines. Of course, we will not tell you to take raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother to build back up the good bacteria. No, we couldn't tell you that as they are your army in your immune system. Nor could we let you know (after a course of antibiotics) use some other type of fermented food with all its good bacteria. For sure we could no way tell you that because that might prevent you from getting Candia. Candida is a super money maker for use. It causes all kinds havoc in the body, that's good for business, our drugs and your doctors' yacht and jet.
I tell you, even at that it can take a couple months or even more to get "cured" using their system as noted herein on this various pages elsewhere.
"Why would you ever want to use something FREE or near free', say they?" That's obviously crazy, right? No way, best pay through the nose on our drugs.'
Whatever, you decide. I've been using this stuff (things like this) all my life. And in some cases, I believe they have saved my life. I'm sure if you keep on knocking, looking and searching you will find a better answer.
Now for what they say…
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/true-false-truth-behind-those-1846789
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/22824146/good-question-does-gold-cure-a-sty
To finish up here, for we could talk all night on this one. I would like to thank everybody that has taken time out of there lives to share with all the rest of us.
From one concerned person who really cares for others, not for some continued money he/she might get from the poor suffering people. Sorry if you found some mistakes here, I've stayed up pretty late working on this.
The best to all of you.
Yours truly Mark