The plants traditionally used in phytotherapy as natural remedies for the stye are numerous, but the most used, for their effectiveness, are the mallow, the euphrasia, the cornflower and the chamomile.

When it is formed, you can try to intervene by exploiting the active ingredients of these herbs, which can definitely help to naturally flame the stye. Some people even let it burn by itself over time, but waiting could be long and even more annoying.

What is the stye

The stye is an abscess at the level of the skin surface of the eyelid, caused by an infection of a sebaceous gland, which manifests itself with redness and swelling of the skin, in correspondence with the affected gland, due to the accumulation of sebum. Usually affects the small sebaceous glands, located near the hair follicles of the eyelashes: those of Zeiss, in the case of external stye, located on the outer edge of the eyelid; or those of Meibomio, under the conjunctiva, when the stye is internal .

The causes of the spur in 90% of the cases are caused by a staphylococcal infection, which penetrates into a hair follicle of the eyelashes and triggers the inflammatory process which, spreading to the neighboring sebaceous glands, gives rise to the stye. A seborrhea situation, that is an excessive oily discharge produced by the eyelid glands, can increase the probability of developing the infection.

Other factors, which contribute to the onset of this disorder, can be bad removal of makeup, use of old or infected cosmetics, poor eyelid hygiene, inflammatory eyelid diseases, such as blepharitis or conjunctivitis, hormonal changes, weakened immune system, inflammation caused from contact with salt water or chlorine- rich water .

The most common ailments and natural eye care

Natural remedies for the stye

Treating the stye with natural remedies mainly means helping to alleviate symptoms and accelerate recovery from infection. Often it is enough to make hot compresses that help to increase the blood circulation of the eyelid: in this way the inflammatory substances can be easily removed and the pus that collects in the center of the stye, "bursting", leads to a rapid recovery.

In most cases, the stye heals on its own within a week or so, however if it were not, a specialist medical examination is recommended. To speed up the healing process it can be useful to apply cotton balls soaked in herbal infusions and medicinal plants for 10 minutes and every 3-4 hours.

Important : do not try to press the stye, because it can cause serious infections.

• Mallow: the flowers and in particular the leaves of the mallow are rich in mucilage, which gives the plant emollient and anti-inflammatory properties for all the soft tissues of the body. These active ingredients act by coating the mucous membranes with a viscous layer that protect them from irritating agents, as they help decongest the eyelids and the conjunctiva and significantly reduce excessive ocular and nasal secretion.

• Euphrasia: in the popular tradition the use of this plant as a specific remedy for the eyes, refers to the ancient Theory of the Signatures of Paracelsus, which claimed that a plant was suitable for treating the organ to which it resembled; in the case of Euphrasia the flower has a colored spot in the center that reminds an eye. Today it is used in phytotherapy in the treatment of eye diseases, such as conjunctivitis, also due to allergy, in blepharitis, and in all cases of eye inflammation. In particular in the case of stye you can make compresses with sterile gauze pads soaked with a lukewarm infusion of it, or even with the same plant soaked by the infusion, wrapped in sterile gauze and applied equally lukewarm to the orzaiolo, to burn it and facilitate its resolution. It is used in the form of eye drops, often associated with other plants, and as eyewash or compresses made with its infusion, which naturally must be well filtered to avoid introducing fragments of the plant into the eye. The use as an anti-inflammatory is justified by the presence of iridoids, flavonoids and tannins, which give the plant analgesic, astringent, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

• Cornflower: it has decongestant, anti-inflammatory and astringent properties useful in the case of ophthalmia. Its flowers are used, in fact, for the presence of anthocyanins and flavonoids, in inflammations of the eye in the form of distillate, eye drops, tablets, eyewash decongestants for the inflamed conjunctiva. Also in the cosmetic field it becomes part of the composition of detergents and makeup removers, tonics and eyelid waters.

• Chamomile, its innumerable applications, are also used to carry out eye washes, wraps and decongestant tablets and eyelid lotions, eye drops, for inflammation of the eyes, conjunctivitis, styes and blepharitis. Also in this case the infusion must be perfectly filtered, better if through a sterile gauze, due to the presence of the small tubular flowers that can pass through the normal filters: some recommend not to use the chamomile infusion in the eye area to prevent any damage due to impurities contained in the infusion not perfectly filtered, but with the appropriate precautions can be carried out safely.