Sties
Sties
When you consider how common sties are, it's amazing how thoroughly the herb world has ignored them. I checked my top 20 herbals, and not one of them indexed sties. So I guess I'll be breaking some new ground here. It's about time somebody did, as there are several good herbs for sties.
A sty is a bacterial infection (typically staphylococcal) of an eyelash follicle. The infection causes a pus-filled bump to form on either the inside or outside of the eyelid. The bump grows for a week or so and then usually subsides, possibly rupturing spontaneously as it heals.
Sties should not be squeezed like pimples, as squeezing can spread the infection. Some people never get sties. Among those who do, they tend to recur.
Doctors often recommend holding a warm, moist cloth against the affected eye to hasten drainage. They also frequently prescribe antibiotics that attack the bacteria.
Green Pharmacy for Sties
Herbalists also have two approaches to treatment--antibiotic herbs plus herbs that boost the immune system so that the body can fight the infection more effectively.
Echinacea (Echinacea, various species). This is one of my favorite immune stimulants. It was widely used to treat infections back in the days before antibiotics, and no wonder: Research clearly demonstrates its immunostimulant properties.
But in addition, this herb of our Great Plains, which is also known as coneflower, has antibacterial properties. Just six milligrams of the active constituents (echinacosides) in echinacea is the antibiotic equivalent of one unit of penicillin, according to herbal pharmacologist Daniel Mowrey, Ph.D., author of The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine and Herbal Tonic Therapies. (A standard dose of penicillin is around 180 units.)
You take this herb orally, either in a tea or in capsules, rather than using it in a compress. (Although echinacea can cause your tongue to tingle or go numb temporarily, this effect is harmless.)
Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis). Like echinacea, goldenseal is both an immune booster and an antibiotic. In one study, berberine, an active constituent in this herb, was shown to be more active against staph infections, the kind that cause sties, than chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin), a powerful pharmaceutical antibiotic.
And berberine is only one of the medicinal compounds in goldenseal and its herb-medicinal relatives, barberry, goldthread, Oregon grape and yellowroot. You can take goldenseal orally, in either tea or capsules, but it also can be helpful when used in a compress.
Potato (Solanum tuberosum). I always like to quote herb conservative Varro Tyler, Ph.D., dean and professor emeritus of pharmacognosy (natural product pharmacy) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana: "To treat a sty, take fresh scrapings from the inside of a potato, put them on a piece of clean cloth and place on the sty. Replace once or twice with fresh scrapings. . . . It was amazingly effective. Within a couple of hours, the swelling was down, and the sty was significantly improved. By that evening it was almost gone."
If it's good enough for Dr. Tyler, it's good enough for me.
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris). If I had a sty, in addition to taking echinacea and goldenseal, I think I'd apply concentrated thyme tea directly to the sty with a cotton swab or in a compress.
Thyme is rich in thymol, a potent antiseptic, and contains more than a dozen other antiseptic compounds.
Camomile (Matricaria recutita). Camomile has eyelike flowers resembling miniature oxeye daisies, so it's not surprising that traditional herbalists suggested eye baths with camomile for sties. Ancient herbalists used to base many of their treatments on the physical resemblance that plants bore to parts of the body.
But--surprise--modern scientific herbalists have found that camomile really helps heal sties. Rudolf Fritz Weiss, M.D., the dean of German medical herbalists and author of Herbal Medicine, suggests using hot compresses made with camomile tea.
Garlic (Allium sativum). Naturopaths seem to recommend garlic for almost any infection, and I have to agree, because garlic is a potent antibiotic. I suggest taking a dozen chopped cloves. Even if you just can't get this much down, use more garlic when you have a sty.
Fruits and vegetables. Naturopaths suggest eating more fruits and vegetables to combat infections. They are rich in vitamins, particularly beta-carotene (the vitamin A precursor) and vitamins C and E. You might also take a multivitamin supplement, if you don't already. One study of elderly people showed that a daily multivitamin significantly improved their immune function.