What Is a Stye, Anyway? You can pretty much think of a stye as a pimple on your eyelid, says Jerry W. Tsong, M.D., a board-certified ophthalmologist in Stamford, Connecticut.

Chiasson recommends using heat and pressing down on the stye for 10 minutes, followed by a light massage with your eyelids closed two to four times per day. They can also go away on their own.

What causes a stye? In most cases styes have no obvious cause, although they are more likely to develop in people who rub their eyes a lot, or in people who suffer from the condition blepharitis where ...