If You're Doing the Stye Cleansing System Before Bed, Would You Finish with Applying an Antibiotic Ointment?

Your Eye Care Q&A with an Optometrist

As an optometrist, I often get questions from patients about stye care. Every case is different but there is a lot of crossover. To answer: "If you're doing the Stye Cleansing System before bed, would you finish with applying an antibiotic ointment?" 

 

My Key Considerations

• Treatment Plans: Always follow your optometrist's treatment plan. A personalized treatment is personalized for a reason. For cases where there is a stye (aka hordeolum) - there is an infection . . .  and an antibiotic ointment can really cut down the healing time. If I prescribe it - I expect my patient to use it!
• Stye Cleansing System Alone: The Stye Cleansing System is designed to effectively provide cleansing and draining of the affected eyelid gland. Follow the steps outlined HERE. It can work effectively on its own, but in some cases, antibiotics are also needed. 
• Antibiotic Ointment: I tend to prescribe antibiotics ointment for a stye (aka hordeolum) that is on the upper eyelid or if I need it to prevent a secondary infection if the stye is 'popping' through either eyelid. 
• Sequencing is Important: In generally I follow this rule of thumb: 1) cleanse; 2) medicate. So yes, antibiotic ointment after all the cleansing is done and the eye area is dry. 

 

 

For more information on styes with my specially designed system, check it out here.

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TL;DR If an antibiotic ointment is part of your stye eye care routine, do all the cleansing first. Then the antibiotic ointment goes on as the very last step when the eye area is fully dry.

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About Dr. Tanya Gill, OD: I’m Dr. Tanya Gill, OD, Founder of We Love Eyes. My goal is to empower you with practical, effective eye care tools and cleansers for your eye problem. Something going on with your eye? Visit We Love Eyes to learn more. My EYE LOVE BLOG is super helpful too. Just enter your keywords in the search bar.