What Are Eye Sties?
Eye sties are caused by bacteria that get into an eyelash hair follicle. Sties are not generally dangerous, just unsightly and embarrassing. People get sties from rubbing their eyes, poor hand washing, and, like my friend, a simple propensity for the little things.
The Connection Between Mascara And Eye Sties
A huge source of the bacteria that invades your eyelash follicles is your mascara wand. Most people don’t realize how much bacteria is actually on that wand. Yet every day we stick that bacteria covered brush right up to our eyes and coat our eyelashes with a good crop of germs.
If you are particularly prone to eye sties, rethink how you use your mascara. I hate to see young ladies sharing mascara. If there’s ever a sure way to pass an eye infection along, it’s by using someone else’s mascara. Also, never keep mascara longer than three months.
Mascara is a great breeding ground for bacteria. These bacteria can cause an odor in mascara. Get used to smelling your mascara. Squeezing that last bit out of the container is not worth a trip to the eye doctor. And, again, if you are prone to eye sties, replace your mascara even more often than normal.
A Good Eye Sty Treatment
Many people ask me “how do you get rid of a sty on your eye?” The answer to that question is to wait. There’s not a whole lot you can do to get rid of a stye. Most of them go away on their own in about five days or so. If you have a sty that lasts longer than a week with no signs of going away, make an appointment with your doctor for appropriate treatments. Also, if you have a sty that appears on the inside of your eyelid, you will need to see a doctor for a cure. Inner eyelid sties can be dangerous.
General treatments for sty eye are to keep the area thoroughly cleansed and to apply warm compresses often to reduce eye sty inflammation. The sty will usually open on its own and then go away. However, after the sty opens you need to be extra careful about keeping the area clean until the sty heals. And be sure to keep your hands away from your eyes. Rubbing can irritate the sty and make it worse or spread the bacteria to others. Be sure to wash your hands frequently.
Finally, if you happen to get an eye stye, as a part of your eye sty treatment, avoid wearing eye makeup until the sty heals; especially mascara. Some experts also advise throwing away all of your eye makeup since it may be contaminated. I see the emergence of an eye sty as a signal to open a fresh mascara and ditch the old one.