Life Fright

Prevention

Styes are formed when an oil gland in the eye area becomes clogged or infected by bacteria. These infected spots then become a sensory nightmare with pain accompanying every blink along with your vision becoming impaired by having to carefully blink and move your eye. Not to mention the very noticeable bump on your eye.

To detect whether a stye is in early stages of formation, scrunch and squint your eyes. If you feel the slightest twinge of pain stemming from the eye area, that is a sign that a stye is forming. Get ahead of it by applying a dab of hypochlorous acid to the area. Hypochlorous acid has many benefits and is naturally produced by the body and will serve as a disinfectant. See my post here for more hypochlorous acid benefits.

The key to preventing styes is to be very aware of personal hygiene. Wash your hands with soap before touching your eye area. You don’t want any dirt or bacteria from the many surfaces and areas you have touched throughout the day to get a chance to infect your eye. Same goes for acne by the way. While you are at it, regularly change out commonly uses items like pillowcases and sheets. Sanitize commonly used surfaces like phone screens, tables, door knobs, light switches, etc. Make sure to cleanse your face! In effect, adopt reasonable behaviors of a germaphobe!

Treatment

If the stye is loud and proud on your eye, it is a waiting game. To provide temporary relief, take a clean towel and soak it in warm water. Wring out the excess water and place it carefully over the stye. The key is to not aggravate the area and to keep the area clean.

Hypochlorous acid is a more effective treatment, but it is not an immediate fix. During the time when I was experiencing lots of styes, once I felt them coming on, I made sure to lightly tap the area with a dab of hypochlorous acid. The next day, no pain and no unsightly stye! See my post here for more hypochlorous acid benefits.