Is eye stye contagious

An eye stye is basically an infection of the sebaceous glands in the upper or lower eyelid. This infection causes discomfort and sometimes pain, it also does not look very nice. People who have a stye often worry about infecting other people, and in turn, other people often avoid those currently suffering from a stye.

A stye appears as a small bump or boil filled with puss. It can be located inside or outside the lower or the upper eyelid. Although it is common for only one stye to develop, multiple styes on one eye are not a rarity.

When a sebaceous gland in an eyelid gets infected, it swells and clogs, forming a stye. Styes affect people of all ages and both sexes, but children seem more prone to it. Although it is not a pretty sight, and it causes discomfort due to swelling, tearing and itching, styes are not dangerous. They can be successfully treated using topical medication or home remedies. They also often disappear on their own.

Styes are caused by staph infection. Staph bacteria are widely spread, and can be found even on healthy skin. Poor hygiene often leads to eye infections, resulting in one or more styes. Constantly touching the eyes with dirty hands, wearing dirty contact lenses or using expired cosmetic products increases the chance of getting a stye.

Every bacterial infection is contagious to some extent, however, a stye can be transmitted to another person only through direct contact. This means that, if the infected person should touch or rub the eye and then touch another object leaving the bacteria, the action can cause for the transmittel of the disease.. If another person touches the contaminated object and then rubs the eyes, chances are that he or she will get a stye too. Still, most people have enough common sense not to touch the eyes with dirty hands, which is why stye is not considered a highly contagious infection.

Styes often go away on its own, when the boil bursts and releases puss, and the lesion heals within a few days. This process can be sped up using simple home remedies.

One of the best remedies for eye styes is the application of warm compresses, several times a day for 15 minutes.

Baked apple, mashed and wrapped in a damp cloth can be applied too, two times a day for 15 to 20 minutes. Cloves can be applied the same way, and they work really well against styes.

A spoon of turmeric boiled with two cups of water makes a great remedy that should be applied using a dropper three or four times a day.

Other popular home remedies for eye styes include alum, aloe vera, grated potatoes, guava leaves and coriander seeds.