They eventually fill with pus and form a yellow or white head. A sty does not usually require a trip to your doctor and can be cared for at home by applying warm compresses for ten to fifteen minutes, four times a day. This treatment should be continued for three or four days to relieve pain, swelling and promote drainage of the pus. A sty should never be squeezed or rubbed. Squeezing will make the swelling worse and rubbing may spread the infection.
Stys are contagious.
It is important to remember that cloths used as compresses will be soiled with infected material from the sty and should be washed separately from clothing, or thrown away to prevent other family members from getting a sty. A cyst is a round swelling in the eyelid that develops from a blocked oil gland. It is harmless unless it becomes infected and forms an abscess. You can care for a cyst at home by applying hot packs for fifteen minute periods four times a day. About half of all cysts can be cured without antibiotics.