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A member asked:
What actually is a sty?
A doctor has provided 1 answer
Hordeolum: The medical term for a sty is a hordeolum. It is caused by a pore in your eyelid from a mucin or oil secreting gland becoming plugged up. These glands normally secrete mucin or oil into the tear film that is not only composed of water. When the pore is plugged up the oil/mucin accumulates in the eyelid tissue, rather than in the tears, and can become inflamed resulting in a growth that is a sty.
Answered 6/18/2015
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