Bacterial infection at the root of an eyelash, the stye does not spare children. He is nicknamed “friend oriole”. This little pimple hanging on the edge of the eyelid, topped with a little pus, is nothing serious. But it can be embarrassing, and painful. What if your child is affected? How to speed up healing? We take stock.

A stye is a mild bacterial infection of the root of an eyelash at the edge of the eyelid. This eyelash implantation area has a name: pilosebaceous follicle. “It is therefore a boil,” describes the Health Insurance on its site Ameli.fr. “It develops, not from the root of a hair as during a boil of the skin, but from that of an eyelash on the free edge of the eyelid. “

Two main culprits stand out:

• wearing lenses without being scrupulous about hygiene;
• repeated rubbing of eyes with dirty hands.

Bacteria can then infect the base of an eyelash. Most often, the culprits are staphylococci. Naturally present on the surface of the skin, they “travel” to the eyelid. This infection ends up forming a small lump, the size of a barley grain. This is where the name “stye” comes from. Diabetes, immune deficiency or dry eyes are contributing factors because they make you more susceptible to infections.

It usually starts with an itchy, red, swollen eyelid. The eye itches, becomes sensitive to light. Then the stye appears and “increases in size until it becomes a small whitish ball, filled with pus”, details the Vidal medical dictionary, on Vidal.fr. This small lump, located at the edge of the eyelid, at the base of the eyelashes, is painful. Usually, it breaks out after a few days, and the infection clears up on its own.

It is based on clinical examination. “The wart should not be confused with chalazion, which is the inflammation of glands located in the thickness of the eyelids,” warns the site Vidal.fr. “The chalazion appears in the thickness of the eyelid while the barbell appears at the base of the lashes.” »

In the event of persistent symptoms (more than 15 days), a doctor should be consulted. Ditto if your child is diabetic, if he suffers from an immune deficiency, if he is in great pain, if he sees less well, if the symptoms are accompanied by fever, or if he suffers from repetitive styes. . An incision of the stye, to evacuate the pus, may be proposed. It will then be performed under local anesthesia, by an ophthalmologist.

The stye heals spontaneously after one to two weeks. We can nevertheless accelerate its recovery.

“Do not touch the stye, do not try to pierce it and do not rub your eyelids with your fingers, you could promote the spread of the infection”, warns the Health Insurance on its site Ameli.fr. Not always easy for a child, especially when he is very small, but care must be taken to ensure that he keeps his little fingers away from the stye. On the other hand, after washing your hands, you can clean their eyelids with physiological serum. “You can also soak a sterile compress with warm water and apply it to the closed eye, for a few minutes, three to four times a day, to speed up the disappearance of the inflammation and the drainage of the pus; Make sure that the temperature is not too high, to avoid burning the eyelid. “

Your doctor may prescribe antibiotic ophthalmic ointment if necessary. But be careful not to give in to the sirens of self-medication. If your child wears contact lenses, he should refrain from putting them on until the stye has completely disappeared.

To tame the pain, you can give paracetamol, of course not exceeding the maximum daily dose. “Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs (ibuprofen, ketoprofen) are to be avoided because they promote the spread of the infection”, warns the Health Insurance.

It can be summed up in one sentence: good eye hygiene. Concretely, to avoid recurrence, Loulou must stop rubbing his eyes. If he can’t help it, advise him to use the back of his hand. Another precaution is not to dry your face with the towel of a person who has a stye himself. For small lens wearers, hygiene must be impeccable. And it starts by always washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water before handling your lenses. At the end of the day, after removing them, they must be cleaned with a suitable solution, and especially not with tap water. And for swimming in the pool, make him wear goggles or a diving mask.