stye

Last reviewed 01/2018

This is a common infection of the glands of the eyelids causing an abscess, most frequently, due to staphylococcus aureus (1).

  • usually a self limiting condition
  • can be multiple or bilateral
  • commonly seen in association with chronic blepharitis (1)

Episodes of hordeolum is more commonly observed in patients with

  • chronic skin conditions
  • decreased immunity due to certain systemic diseases e.g. - diabetes (1)

Vision is not affected (2).

There are two types:

  • an external hordeolum (commonly known as a stye) - more common, external stye is an acute infection of a lash follicle (in the skin) and always associated with glands of Zeis or Moll
  • an internal hordeolum - the internal stye is an acute infection of a meibomian gland situated within the tarsal plate (1).

Reference: