A sty usually begins with irritation in the eye. You find yourself rubbing your eye and after a day or two you notice a tiny lump or pimple on the upper or lower lid. The annoying pimple becomes larger and painful until, within a few days, it bursts, and the pain and irritation ceases. The first thing not to do to a sty is to rub or squeeze it.

A sty is in fact an infection in the eyelash follicle or the oil gland. If you're frequently exposed to small particles of any kind, you are more likely to develop sties as tiny particles clog the gland or follicle on the eyelid. One of my patients who complained of frequent sties was a housepainter who developed frequent sties because of exposure to plaster dust caused by sanding. Once he began to wear plastic goggles, his sties disappeared.

Sometimes you can get sties over a period of weeks or you can get a few at the same time. This is because the bacteria that are causing the infection have traveled to another site on the eyelid and infectecl it.

The best way to cope with a sty is to use frequent warm compresses. Take a clean washcloth and wet it with hot water so that the cloth is comfortably warm to the touch. Press it gently to the affected eye and hold it in place for about ten minutes. This moist warmth helps the sty come to a head and burst, which relieves the pain. If you can see that a white or yellow head has formed on the sty after a few days, you can pull out the eyelash. This will relieve the pain by helping the pus to drain. Again, never squeeze the sty or try to pull the lash or force it to drain before a head has formed.