Q. As a child, every year I had eight or ten sties, those painful infections of the eyelid. One day in the 7th grade, my English teacher told me that he used to have multiple sties at a time and had stopped the infections by eating cabbage. I began eating a daily chunk of cabbage and within six weeks the sties stopped. I have never had another.
Twenty-five years later my 8-year-old son said that his best friend had frequent sties. I recommended cabbage, and he followed the advice. He has not had another stye.
Today at 63 I continue to eat several servings of coleslaw and cooked cabbage every week. I know that cabbage is good for people generally, but have you ever heard of it being eaten to correct conditions leading to sties?
A. A stye is an inflamed spot at the edge of the eyelid. It is caused by infection (usually staph) around an eyelash. You can think of it almost as a pimple on the eyelid.
Although most sties go away on their own in about a week, warm compresses three or four times a day may speed healing by improving circulation.
We don’t know why eating cabbage was so helpful for you. We would love to find out if anyone else benefits from your experience.
