Home Remedies For Styes - Saliva And Much More

A stye is caused by blockage of the hair follicle of an eyelash behind which a small collection of infected material accumulates. The usual medical treatment is with an antibiotic cream but there are a variety of home remedies for styes that are equally or more effective.

Hot compresses: Hot compresses are a reliable way of bringing the stye to a head. The simplest method is to apply to the eyelash cotton-wool or a piece of gauze that has been dipped in hot water to which salt has been added.

Saliva: The anti-infective properties of saliva make it a suitable treatment for styes. Regular applications of early morning spittle to a stye in its early stages will prevent it developing. Wedding ring: This remedy is particularly interesting because it illustrates so well the difference between the superstitious nonsense of the 'old wives tale' from the genuine article.

In Country Things by Alison Uttley, published in 1946, she writes 'to cure a stye, the eyelid is rubbed very gently with pure gold. A wedding ring is used for this without, of course, removing it from the finger which would be unlucky. It has to be drawn three times across the afflicted eye. My mother often touched somebody's stye with her ring and even the most obstinate one disappeared within a few hours.

Mrs Mary Goodby from Chester puts the record straight about 'this excellent home remedies for styes'. 'In most homes mother's worn, plain gold wedding band is likely to be the only item in the house which is absolutely smooth without any possible points or corners, non-toxic, very clean due to mum's hands being constantly in water, and a convenient size tor the job.

The precise technique is as follows: 'Hold ring very firmly by its edge, between finger and thumb. Gently press the opposite half circle onto the affected eyelid whilst avoiding any possible pressure on the eyeball by performing a sort of gentle scooping action aiming under the stye itself. This causes the stye to empty of pus without hurting the inflamed part around the stye or the eye. An experienced mother could gently turn back the upper or lower eyelid and apply the ting just inside the edge of the lid.’