The stye, in most cases, is an inflammation of the eyelid that is accompanied by an infection by staphylococcus bacteria . This means that the stye can be considered contagious, since the bacteria present in the location can be transmitted, both to other people and to the other eye.
However, the type of bacteria that causes the sty is also naturally present on the skin of healthy people, without causing infection. Thus, and although, in some cases, they can cause a new stye in another person, the bacteria are balanced by the skin, not causing stye. However, people with a cold or who have a weakened immune system can develop sty, or even another type of infection in the eye, as bacteria are more likely to develop.
It is recommended that the person with the stye always wash their hands well after touching the spot, both to avoid passing bacteria to another person, and to avoid contaminating the other eye.
How to avoid catching the sty
Some recommendations that can be followed to avoid developing a sty, and that also help prevent the infection from spreading to others include:
- Keep your eyes always clean and free of secretions or puffiness; Wash your face daily, to eliminate secretions from the eye and balance the oiliness of the skin; Avoid sharing objects that may come in contact with your eyes, such as makeup, pillowcases or towels; Avoid scratching or bring your hands to your eyes frequently; always wash your hands before touching the eye;
In addition, you should also avoid bursting the stye, as the released pus can end up infecting the eye and even spreading to other locations on the face.
People who wear contact lenses should ideally stop using them during the presence of the stye, as they can end up contaminating the lens.
See more about what to do to treat the sty.
Why the stye happens
What determines whether a person will develop this problem or not is the accumulation of secretion around the eyelid glands. The people most at risk are:
- Adolescents, due to hormonal variation in age; Pregnant women, due to hormonal changes during this period; Children, for scratching their eyes with dirty hands; People who wear makeup daily, for facilitating the accumulation of secretion.
In addition, people who do not do proper eye hygiene, leaving too much secretion or makeup to accumulate, are more likely to develop a stye.
