The Bigger Reason Why Styes Manifest.

Back in 2013 during a very emotional breakup I started getting uncomfortable red bumps on my upper eyelids which I soon discovered were Styes. Some of the occurrences were painfully large and would obstruct my vision to the point where I’d opt to work from home to stay out of sight after my co-workers began to worry I had pink eye. I made an appointment with an Ophthalmologist because one of the occurrences had gotten really bad. He explained very simply to me that Styes were basically pimples on the eyelids and that better hygiene when washing my face would help to prevent these in the future. One of the instances was so severe that we almost considered lancing it to drain the fluid out. I have used special cleansing pads, applied prescription grade antibiotic topical creams and cycled oral antibiotics to reduce the inflammation from the inside on my initial treatment journey. I had actually never mindfully cleansed my eyelids when showering or washing my face before so quickly added this to my routine.

I thought “better hygiene” would do the trick but I still continued to get Styes very rarely and was talking to my new Optometrist Dr. Morioka whom I have come to adore over the year who told me something my Ophthalmologist and no one else had said to me: “…sometimes Styes surface when one is undergoing a lot of stress. Have things been stressful recently?” That’s when it finally made sense to me because hygiene was seeming less and less likely the culprit for me. I had stopped even touching my eyes when itchy for fear of birthing a new Stye. These eye sores now serve as a reminder to me to slow down and reflect on what is not working with how I am managing my life. My Esthetician John Francis put it best when he told me that: “Styes are the body’s way of letting one know that it is in overload” meaning it needs a break to restore and recover! Looking back on that 2013 breakup, once the relationship ended and closed out, my re-occurring Styes during that time vanished with it.

I was really surprised to see during my research upon the first occurrence and even today how there isn’t really any content when reading up about Styes establishing the connection to stress and how they could be a manifestation of that in the body. Most of the content available focuses on hygiene which I have no doubt that there’s a cause and connection with that but I believe based on when Styes have arose for me that stress plays a large role too.

The two recommendations that I have followed by doctor’s and have found to be successful in clearing Styes for me:

#1 Hot Compressing: warming up water in a cup as hot as I’m able to tolerate (almost burning) and using a cloth to dab, compress and massage the stye (three times a day until it ruptures and drains out)

#2 Sleep: ensuring I am getting adequate sleep and adding more time in bed

Beyond the doctor’s orders taking the time to slow down and offload from my plate helps to reduce the inflammation. Do you get Styes? Looking back do you recognize a pattern or connection with stressful times in your life?

Last Updated/Enhanced: May 22, 2017