Stymied

I got a stye in my eye. Ouch! It crept up this week and has been getting bigger, burning more, and I think is about to come to a head. I hope this doesn't gross you out.

Roy, my boyfriend, recommended (and later, just went ahead and did it when I expressed my hesitation) to apply that inner layer found inside an eggshell on my eyelid. He said to apply it before bedtime and sleep with it until the next morning when I take it off. We've been doing that for about 2 nights, and tonight, I'll do it before I go to bed. It is supposed to "ripen" the stye so it'll be ready to pop sooner. So, as I've applied it, I've noticed that when I awake in the mornings, my eye is crusted over with the dryed puss. (I am getting grossed out typing this).

Worried about the puss, I called Mom to ask her opinion. She'd never heard of the eggshell thing but recommended I put a hot and salty compress on my eye for 20 minutes a night until the stye pops. The thought of salt coming near my eye has made me a bit skittish. When I expressed my concern, she recommended that I could just go to my doctor so he can lance it. She cautioned against that though saying it'll hurt like a dickens and I'll have to pay my doctor for the experience.

So, after hearing both Roy's and Mom's advice, I went and spoke with a pharmacist at a nearby all-night pharmacy. The pharmacist recommended I do nothing and let it come to a head on its own. She recommended I purchase (how thoughtful) a gel called Stye that'll help my eye not itch, burn, or hurt anymore. Thinking she was more of an expert than the old wives tales of my bf and my mom, I bought the gel. And you know what? It hurts and burns and itches now more than it has all week long.

So, I am going to wash off the gel and apply the eggshell remedy here pretty soon before I go to bed. I am thinking there is something more to the old wives tales (even if they come through my bf).