My mother is 48 and has been an insulin-dependent diabetic since age 10. Recently, she's been suffering from recurring urinary tract infections and styes in her eye. Could one be connected to the other? Could it have something to do with her diabetes?

Kelly

A sty, also called a chalazion, is an area of localized swelling in the eyelid. It stems from a blockage of one of the oil glands of the eyelid. Normally, these glands secrete oil into the eye's protective, watery film. When one of these glands gets blocked, the oil backs up and becomes a source of intense irritation, causing eye pain, redness and swelling.

Local treatment with warm compresses is usually successful at getting a sty to drain spontaneously. If warm compresses don't work, other treatment options include local injections of steroids or surgery to make an incision to drain the sty.

To my knowledge, there is no association between urinary tract infections and styes. Also, the risk of developing a sty is not increased by diabetes.