A stye is a small abscess of the lash root on the eyelid. It appears as a painful yellow lump on the outside of the eyelid where the lash emerges. It is also known as an external ordeolum.
Symptoms
- Watery eye (epiphora)
- Red eye and eyelid
- Painful to touch
Signs
- A small tender red swelling that appears along the outer edge of the eyelid, which may turn into a yellow pus-filled spot, centred on an eyelash follicle
Treatment
- Give patient stye information leaflet
- Epilate the lash from the affected follicle with a pair of fine tweezers and prescribe chloramphenicol ointment tds-qds for 1 week
- A warm compress (a facecloth soaked with warm water and squeezed out) held against the eye encourages the stye to heal more quickly
- It is very rare indeed to require surgical drainage
- If there is definite spreading cellulitis in the lid, it requires oral antibiotics (e.g. co-amoxiclav)