Stye Stone

Introduction
Every so often I develop a stye or sty; aka hordeolum. A stye is a red painful bump on the inside or outside of the upper or lower edge of the eyelid. A stye is a bacterial infection. When it occurs on the inside of the eyelid an oil gland of the eyelid has become blocked. The oil helps lubricate the surface of the eye. The stye on the external eyelid is an infection in the root of the eyelash. Most of the time a stye will go away on its own.

The standard treatments to speed up healing for a stye are warm compress, clean the eyelid with mild soap, gentle message, antibiotic or anti-inflammatory ointment. My stye is on the inside of my eyelid and have lived it for 7 months. I have had antibiotic and other treatments short of surgery. My relief has come from a Stye Stone. A warm compress was very time consuming, after multiple times heating up a face cloth I stopped. My life is very busy and having to wait around for the water to heat up and apply a “warm” wet cloth was cumbersome. I would use the compress treatment for a couple of days, then other things became a priority. I would resume when time permitted but the reduction in swelling was minimal at best.

The Solution
I started to work the problem. How could I maintain moist heat for 3 to 5 mins? The water on the cloth cooled off quickly and the stand-by “hot” water was too hot to re-apply. What could I use to keep the water on the cloth hot, something reusable, something with good thermal properties…

Rice bag? No.
Reusable heat pad? Kind of bulky.
What about a stone? Yes.

The benefits of this instructable are to give you
1) a working knowledge to provide a first aid treatment.
2) to provide a labor-saving first aid devise and
3) to provide a low cost first aid devise.

Note This is an educational instruction for a First Aid device, consult with a professional to see if this is the best treatment for your ailment or for ongoing treatment.

Rhyme
To rock a bye stye on my eyelid,
An eye ailment an image lurid.
Make a compress with a heated stone,
Healing will come add water as shown.

Next Supplies.

Supplies:
1) Small Stone,
2) Face cloth,
3) Small bowl,
4) Water and
5) Heat source.

About the Stone
Find a stone, one small enough to hold comfortably, smooth and without cracks. Clean the stone before use.

Next Wrap the Stone

Wrap the face cloth around the stone.

Next Heat the Stone

Place the Stye Stone into the microwave oven. Set the timer for less than a minute, depending on size of the stone.

Note: Microwave wattage vary from model to model. Your heating time may differ.

Next Warm the Water

Warm up a bowl of water in a microwave oven for about 1 min.

Note: Microwave wattage vary from model to model. Your heating time may differ.

Next Water and Stone Meet

Water and stone meet to make moist heat.

Dip the wrapped stone into the bowl of warm water wait 15 seconds. If the water and Stye Stone are too hot, wait for it to cool.

Next Apply to the Stye

Place the Stye Stone on the stye, rotate the stone as the cloth cools. Do not apply the Stye Stone if it feel hot on the stye. Remove and let cool.

Re-dip the Stye Stone into the warm water as needed.

After 5 mins. wash and dry the Stye Stone so it is ready for the next time.

Next Observations & Summary

Observations

Apply the Stye Stone 2 times a day. You should see the stye clearing up after about a week. As a first aid treatment this works well. This Stye Stone has served its purpose to reduce the healing time of the stye infection.

Benefits
1) This Stye Stone can be repeatedly use.
2) This stone can be used for other treatments.

Note This is an educational instruction for a First Aid device, consult with a professional to see if this is the best treatment for your ailment or for ongoing treatment.

Summary
I am a happy guy,
saying bye to my stye.
Do you want to try?

I am satisfied with the results.