The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Heated Spoon Method
Posted by Stuart (Kamsack, Saskatchewan) on 03/01/2016
★★★★★
A sty developed on a Friday and it was gone by the following Monday morning. I tried a few things: gold ring seemed to offer some relief, but temporary for me. I tried using a spoon, a remedy I found elsewhere, and it worked in combination with black tea bags.
Heat the spoon in a cup of tea and remove. Wave it around until it's not too hot to touch to your hand, then carefully cup over the affected eye, like half of a set of goggles so only the rim of the spoon is touching the skin. Once it cools, reheat in the cup of tea and repeat. Continue repeating until the tea cools and you can no longer heat the spoon to a warm enough temperature.
I guess if the sty is caused by a blockage of a pore or duct, then this therapy is like a mini-sauna for the eye and opens the pores, allowing the built up fluid to drain. I could tell when it was working because my vision became blurry in the affected eye - from the sty draining, I presume - and my vision cleared within 20 minutes or so.
Lavender Oil
Posted by Tawny (Us) on 01/10/2016
★★★★★
Lavender Oil for Sty
This the only thing that worked. I tried ACV, Gold, Puracel, Pomegranate, Triple Antibiotic ointment, Hot Compresses, Baby Shampoo and can't remember what else. This did it. I didn't put it on my eye ball but I did put it on the lower lid. One treatment about 40 percent better and draining. Nothing ever did that. I had it across both lower lids. You are awesome to share this!!!! Thank you.
Castor Oil
Posted by Elle (United States) on 12/25/2015
★★★★★
Castor oil works amazing for styes. Once you feel the stye coming on, apply cold pressed castor oil with a q-tip. Apply liberally. Apply it throughout the day and night. I usually apply it 3-4 times a day and then overnight. You want to keep the oil on it at all times. Takes a few days or so and then it's gone.
Milk
Posted by Briana Brewer (Santa Cruz Ca) on 11/18/2015
★★★★★
I found extremely potent success with an old folk remedy I heard discussed by women at the NorthernCa Women's Herbal Symposium. I had a stye that quickly grew under my left eye right by my tear duct that was very painful even though it was not that large with minimal swelling. At first I thought I had a bruised eye cavity from slamming myself in the face with one of my rakes that I stepped onto in the dark in my garden shed, resulting in the classic cartoonishish thwack right to my left cheekbone. When a head started to develop on the painful eye I quickly realized it was a stye and not related to the rake thwack. I then thought that perhaps I got it from using my old eye makeup, which I really never wear now, on Halloween to dress up. So big tip here for preventing is to not take those suggestions of when to toss eye makeup lightly.
Onto the treatment, I used what these women spoke of highly which was turmeric infused milk applied hot on gauze to the eye and taped to stay while sleeping overnight. I was amazed to find that overnight the head disappeared and the treatment actually drew out a bit of what I believe to have been the infected blood at the area, only a few drops by my what an amazing sea change overnight. I will do again for the next few nights just to be sure it is gone completely.
The warm teabag method also appears to soothe but not treat as effectively at all as the turmeric milk. The milk with turmeric does not sting at all and is highly effective. Apparently you can put drops of it in your eye as well but I didn't find that necessary maybe if you have a more aggressive infection try that. Thank you for reading and good luck in your home treatment who I definitely recommend more than anything a "Doctor" would give you...B Brewer
Apple Cider Vinegar, White Potato
Posted by Ladydiana (East Windsor, Nj) on 10/14/2015
★★★★★
I had a stye for a few months. Finally, I tried apple cider vinegar heated with paper towel (did not have cotton balls). I put it on for a few minutes at a time. Then when it looked like it came to a head, lid was very white. I took a white potato and cut it and put it on my lid and directly on the stye underneath the lid. My eye oozed for a few days. It worked, I was so amazed!
You have to try the combination of the apple cidar vinegar and white potato because I tried just apple cidar vinegar and it did not go away.
Milk
Posted by Brittney (South Carolina) on 07/30/2015
★★★★★
2 days ago I got a stye on my upper right eye out of nowhere. I felt the pain a day before but there was nothing there this is the second stye I've ever had in my life. Someone at my job told me to use milk, she said that the bacteria kills the infection of the sty, I didn't think that it would work but I tried it and a day later the swelling was gone and the pain was gone and my eye is back to normal. I would recommend this to anyone that has a sty. I used one of my today medicine droppers that I cleaned out very well and I dropped warm milk into my eye a couple of drops at a time twice yesterday and I am all better today!! This is the best and safest way in my opinion.
Baby Shampoo
Posted by Alina (Uk) on 12/19/2014
★★★★★
Hi from the UK. This site is amazing and I want to share my experience. I have always been plagued with styes and chalazions. For years I wore thick NHS glasses then I got contacts and first time ever got compliments on my eyes. Then the styes and more permanent chalazion came. I've had this particular one for about TEN years. V unsightly. I read this site and started using ACV. Then I bought baby shampoo on a whim. Can't hurt I thought. OMG. Within three days it's no longer visible. It's nearly gone. And it was quite big. I hated mostly kids commenting on it and my little nieces were due to visit which I why I wanted to be rid. Baby shampoo on a cotton pad just made it vanish. Thank you Earth Clinic. Thank you people of Earth Clinic. I salute you! Happy Christmas.
Gold Wedding Band
Posted by Elaine (Thailand) on 09/08/2014
★★★★★
My 11 year old daughter had a sty last week on her upper and lower eye lids. I read on here that many people recommend: Gently rubbing a gold band on it as a cure. We did this for a few minutes 3 times a day for 2 days; within a couple of hours, the stys were less painful and completely gone by day 3. I don't understand how it works, but it does!
Also we've had great results treating warts and verrucas with ACV.
Baby Shampoo
Posted by Teresa (Austin, TX) on 08/23/2014
★★★★★
I happened to be looking for holistic remedies for a sty that developed overnight. I have bad allergies and this is what happens. I tried the hot compress first and then applied the baby shampoo for about 2 mins and then ran hot water for about another 2 mins and I treated both eyes because the other one did not present a sty but was just as swollen. It relieved the pain instantly with some swelling left but at least I could see now. It worked within 24hrs, it was all gone.
Potato
Posted by Cathy (Lakeside, US) on 08/22/2014
★★★★★
For over a week I tried every remedy known to man to get rid of my sty. I just had surgery on my hip, then a couple weeks out of hospital I developed a sty which made my eye terribly swollen. I was using a cane for my hip and because the sty looked so terrible I started wearing sunglasses when I went out. (All I needed was a seeing eye dog to complete the picture. ) Feeling very discouraged I prayed for a cure and heard "potato" as a divine answer. Well after trying at least 6 or 7 remedies which failed, I finally decided to listen. I cut a raw potato in half and microwave for 30 seconds. I applied it to my eye (test temperature tentatively first so you don't burn eye. ) After less than an hour my sty was 90% gone! Thank you God!
Earl Grey Tea, Turmeric
Posted by Karen (Lethbridge, Alberta) on 07/10/2014
★★★★★
Woke up this morning with my eye almost completely closed from a painful sty I developed yesterday, it is allergy season and my eyes are very sensitive. I looked on EC for cures and also talked to my mom, who used to get sty's often. I read about the anti-inflammatory effects of turmeric and my mom said tea works well too. So I made myself a morning cuppa and used the spent tea bag to nurse my poor dilapidated eye. Here's the method:
- Boil enough water for a cup of tea
- Place 1 earl grey tea bag in cup
- pour boiling water over bag
- steep 3 minutes
- remove tea bag and let cool (without squeezing the water out)
- rub some ground turmeric on the wet bag
- place bag on eye for 60 minutes
- add cream and sugar (or honey) to tea
- lay back and relax
enjoy :)
So after 20 minutes I checked my eye and shock and awe, the swelling went down considerably but there was still a bump right over the little pimple, I decided to leave it on for another 20 minutes. After that time elapsed I checked again and the sty was almost gone but still a very small bit of swelling remained on the outside of my eyelid which I hadn't noticed was swollen because of how severe the swelling was when I woke up! Another 20 minutes and my eye is darn near perfect! Definitely worth the 60 minute rest and the nice cuppa tea. I hope this helps others as it has myself, what a relief. Oh also I took 1 tsp turmeric powder orally as well to stave off any inflammation that may brew up over the course of the day.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Lisa (Brisbane) on 04/09/2014
★★★★★
Sty:
I noticed a red rash above my eye yesterday morning and as the morning went on it got puffier & puffier (suspecting it may turn into a sty) so I put 2 Tablespoons of ACV in a cup of water and each hour bathed my eye with cotton wool and the ACV solution. It was alot bettter by nighttime. My eye was still abit puffy when I awoke this morning, so kept bathing my eye every hour for the next 5 hours and its great. Cured. Fantastic site for solutions to problems.
Castor Oil
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 09/24/2013
★★★★★
My 5 year old son had a sty on his eye over the weekend. I put a little bit of castor oil onto the swollen part of his eyelid twice a day for several days and it is about gone by now. I will treat another day or two. It took seconds to treat him and he didn't mind. I used to get styes all the time as a child and wish I had known about this. I never treated them and they always went away on their own, but it took a while and it was uncomfortable.
~Mama to Many~
Milk
Posted by Write4cure (Denver, Colorado) on 07/18/2013
★★★★★
Milk for eye styes: I would have never believed it. I had a steye inside my lower lid that was excrutiating. I reviewed all of the recommendations and atecdotal stories about relief on this site. After deciding I wasn't about to try to anything gold inside my eye (LOL), I thought I would try both the green tea and milk poultices to see if I aould get some relief.
The warm green teabag poultice/compress felt good, but did nothing except just provide soothing heat for the time I applied it.
The milk, on the other hand, was a super relief to me. I heated regular homogenized cow milk in the microwave (about a 3/4 cup) for a minute. It was on the high side of warm and close to hot--(be careful it isn't too hot as to damage your tender skin around the eye). I soaked a clean compress pad in the milk, wrought out most of the excess, and applied to my eye and held it there for maybe 5-10 minutes max. Within that time, the stye had broken and began to exude its yuck, and my swelling and pain was alleviated. I continued this about every 4 hours for the next 16 hours. Amazing results/relief. Super results. Who would have thought? BTW, when I first read the accounts about milk as a relief, I thought "aww c'mon"-- but so interesting that it actually works! Wow. I recommend it, because for me, it worked beautifully.
Gold Wedding Band
Posted by Kathy (Ny) on 05/31/2013
★★★★★
My husband gets stys and we just rub a gold 14 K ring on it a few times and it goes away!
