Editing Stye (section)

==Treatment==
Most cases of styes resolve on their own within one to two weeks, without professional care.<ref name=Lind2017/> The primary treatment is application of warm compresses.{{medcn|date=November 2022}} As a part of self-care at home, people may cleanse the affected eyelid with tap water or with a mild, nonirritating [[soap]] or [[shampoo]] (such as baby shampoo) to help clean crusted discharge. Cleansing must be done gently and while the eyes are closed to prevent eye injuries.<ref name="MediHealth">{{cite web |url=http://www.emedicinehealth.com/sty/page8_em.htm#Medical%20Treatment |title=Medical Treatment |access-date=2010-04-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411054952/http://www.emedicinehealth.com/sty/page8_em.htm#Medical%20Treatment |archive-date=2010-04-11 }}</ref>

People with styes should avoid eye makeup (e.g., eyeliner), lotions, and wearing contact lenses, since these can aggravate and spread the infection (sometimes to the cornea).<ref name=merck_quick_facts>{{cite web|url=https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/quick-facts-eye-disorders/eyelid-and-tearing-disorders/chalazion-and-stye-hordeolum?query=stye|title=Merck Manual - Chalazion and Stye (Hordeolum)}}</ref> People are advised not to lance the stye themselves, as serious infection can occur.<ref name=merck_quick_facts/> Pain relievers such as [[acetaminophen]] may be used.

===Antibiotics===
Evidence to support the use of [[antibiotic]] eye ointment is poor.<ref name=EM2013/> Occasionally [[erythromycin]] ophthalmic ointment is recommended.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.emedicine.com/oph/TOPIC606.HTM|title=Medscape: Medscape Access|website=Emedicine.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804164715/http://www.emedicine.com/oph/topic606.htm|archive-date=2008-08-04|date=2018-11-19}}</ref> Other antibiotics, such as [[chloramphenicol]] or [[amoxicillin]] may also be used.<ref>[http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic415.htm eMedicine - Periorbital Infections : Article by R Gentry Wilkerson, MD.<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403202017/http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic415.htm |date=2007-04-03 }}</ref> Chloramphenicol is used successfully in many parts of the world, but contains a [[black box warning]] in the United States due to concerns about [[aplastic anemia]], which on rare occasions can be fatal.

Antibiotics are normally given to people with multiple styes or with styes that do not seem to heal, and to people who have [[blepharitis]] or [[rosacea]].

===Procedures===
Incision and drainage is performed if resolution does not begin in the next 48 hours after warm compresses are started. Medical professionals will sometimes lance a particularly persistent or irritating stye with a needle to accelerate its draining.<ref>[http://www.medicinenet.com/sty/page2.htm#tocf Sty (Stye, Hordeolum) Causes, Infection Symptoms and Treatment by MedicineNet.com<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520090900/http://www.medicinenet.com/sty/page2.htm |date=2007-05-20 }}</ref>

Surgery is the last resort in stye treatment. Styes that do not respond to any type of therapies are usually surgically removed. Stye surgery is performed by an ophthalmologist, and generally under local anesthesia. The procedure consists of making a small incision on the inner or outer surface of the eyelid, depending if the stye is pointing externally or not. After the incision is made, the pus is drained out of the gland, and very small [[Surgical suture|sutures]] are used to close the lesion. Sometimes the removed stye is sent for a [[Histopathology|histopathological examination]] to investigate possibility of skin cancer.

===Alternative medicine===
A 2017 Cochrane review found low-certainty and low-quality evidence that [[acupuncture]] helps in hordeolum compared with antibiotics or warm compresses.<ref name="KCheng">{{cite journal |vauthors=Cheng K, Law A, Guo M, Wieldand LS, Shen X, Lao L |title= Acupuncture for acute hordeolum |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume=2|pages= CD011075 |date=2017 |issue= 9 |pmid= 28181687|doi= 10.1002/14651858.CD011075.pub2 |pmc=5378315}}</ref> as well as that acupuncture plus conventional treatment may yield improvement, though they could not rule out placebo or observer effect, since the studies reviewed either had no positive control, were not blinded, or both.<ref name=KCheng/>