Sam’s Story: When a Winter Illness Leads to a Stye

Sam, a 36-year-old healthy and active professional, came to our office with a large, persistent stye on his lower eyelid. He had been struggling with the stye for over three months, despite trying multiple treatments — prescription antibiotic drops, ointments, oral antibiotics, and daily warm compresses — all without improvement.

Interestingly, Santiago did not report high stress levels or poor sleep, two common triggers for styes. However, he did note that the stye appeared during the winter after he had been sick with flu-like symptoms for several weeks. This is something I see often in practice: when the immune system is weakened by illness, the body’s ability to heal small infections — like those leading to a stye — can be compromised. While Sam’s viral illness passed, the stye remained, stubborn and inflamed.

At his visit, I recommended a Kenalog (triamcinolone) steroid injection directly into the lesion. This approach allows us to calm the intense inflammation quickly and often helps the stye flatten and heal without needing surgical intervention. Surgery in Sam’s case would have been difficult and painful, given the extensive blood flow and redness in the area. A steroid injection was the right choice.

One week after his injection, Sam is already showing significant improvement. Because his stress levels are stable and his immune system has recovered, he has an excellent prognosis for complete healing. I advised him to begin using StyeRx topical drops four times daily until the stye flattens, then continue once nightly for one to two months to reduce the risk of recurrence.

As with many of my patients, Sam’s case highlights that styes can develop not only from external factors but also from internal imbalances like temporary immune suppression. By addressing the inflammation early and supporting eyelid health afterward, we can often avoid surgery and help patients recover fully and comfortably.