A stye is a small, pimple or boil-like bump that forms on the eyelid. They often heal up without any serious medical treatment, but they can be extremely painful in the meantime. If you come into frequent contact with someone who has a stye, you may be wondering if you will “catch” their stye.
Unfortunately, if the stye is caused by a staph infection (which is common), that is almost always contagious. However, the majority of the population carries the staph bacteria on their bodies, which means that most people can get a stye from staph bacteria without rubbing their eye on someone else’s stye. On the other hand, this also means you can be contagious to yourself. Staph can get into open cuts or sores and cause abscesses or just a plain old staph infection, which looks like a lot of large pimples that itch and hurt.
One of the most important aspects of keeping a staph infection in one place and on one person is careful hygiene. Wash your wands with warm, soapy water. Use a gentle soap on the area around your eye to keep it clean as well. Avoid using contacts or makeup until your stye goes away. Bacteria can also develop on contacts or in old makeup, so disinfect your contacts, throw out old makeup, and don’t share any makeup. Don’t share towels or razors either. If you use a towel as a warm compress for your stye, use a different one for each eye and a new one each time. Try not to wipe your eyes on your towel and then wipe off the rest of your body.
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