A sty, also called hordoleum, can be painful and irritating but rarely dangerous. Sties can be internal or external – internal sty is inside the eye lid while external sty is on the outside. The internal sty tends to be more painful, especially for children.
It can be painful in the days it takes to show up. Your child might want to continually rub his or her eyes. If your child is getting recurrent sties, it might be something simple as improved hygiene or could be a more serious infection.
Simple treatment options include prevention and care methods. Home remedies include warm compresses (not hot ones) that help the sty to come to head and break. Avoid pricking it and ensure that your child does not fiddle with it. Once the sty breaks, clean it with cool, wet towel and disinfect the area. Disinfect the towels also used so that the infection does not recur. Even when your child has the sty and after, makes sure your child washes his hands often. Germs often spread through the hands from one eye to other and sties in both eyes are often quite common. Ensure that your child uses anti-bacterial soap.
You can also apply diluted tea tree oil on the infected eyelid, even after the sty has broken. This will prevent the bacteria from spreading the infection. For recurring sty treatment, you can even ask your doctor to prescribe an antibiotic ointment. If the sty continues to return after temporary relief you need to seek proper treatment. In a worst case scenario, a paediatric ophthalmologist could drain the sty if isn’t healing.
Children who have diabetes are more likely to develop skin infections like sties so in case you think your child is showing any of the other symptoms, you might want to bring it your doctor’s attention. In case you doctor suspects diabetes, the treatment and tests will change. There needs to be a history of diabetes in the family and the child should show other symptoms too.
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answered by G R