Home Remedies for Styes on Dogs' Eyelids

An eye stye can occur both internally and externally on your pet's eyelid and can give your dog a red, irritated eyelid, increase its eye drainage and in most cases, cause a large abscess in the lid. Take a look at where the inflammation is occurring to determine that your dog has a stye and not a more serious infection. With a stye, the infection most often occurs on an eyelash, so the red abscess will be on the top or bottom eyelid and have an eyelash protruding out of the middle. An eye stye will normally drain on its own in time, but there are some steps to hasten drainage. You also need to follow steps to prevent the infection from spreading.

  1. Water or Tea Bags

    • To ease pain and encourage the abscess to drain, place a hot compress on the infection for 10 to 15 minutes, 3 to 4 times per day, or as long as your dog will allow. You can also try a tea bag compress. Steep your tea bag in hot, not boiling, water for 10 minutes. Remove it and let it cool until it can be handled easily. Press the tea bag to the infection for 10 to 15 minutes. If your dog will not allow you to hold something to its eye for 10 minutes, cut the time into shorter increments and increase the number of times you apply the compress.

    Coriander Seeds

    • Bring 1 cup of water and 1 tsp. of coriander seeds to a boil. Strain out the seeds and allow the coriander water to cool. Use the coriander water to wash out the infected eye up to 4 times per day.

    Turmeric

    • Turmeric, a bright orange herbal powder known for having numerous health benefits, can also help heal a stye. Bring 2 cups of water and 1 tsp. of turmeric to a boil. Boil until the water has reduced by half, leaving 1 cup of liquid. Pass the liquid through cheesecloth or finely woven cotton until the liquid does not contain any turmeric granules. Use the remaining liquid as eye drops for your dog.

    Warnings

    • Never attempt to pop a stye. Doing so will just cause the infection to spread to the other eyelashes on your dog. As the abscess is draining, clean the area 3 to 4 times per day with a warm washcloth to remove any bacteria. If the infection does not drain or disappear after 2 to 3 days, call your veterinarian. Your dog could have a much more serious eye infection that requires medical treatment.