Possible Chalzion on My Daughters Eyelid

Updated on January 13, 2010
L.W. asks from Montgomery, AL
14 answers

Several days ago a bump appeared on my daughter's lower eyelid. After it didn't go down, I did some research on WebMD. It looks like it's a chalzion (sp?). It's like a stye, but is most commonly caused by things like sleeping in eye makeup. She had played with makeup the day before it popped up, so we are pretty sure that's what it is. The recommendation I read as treatment is eye drops or ointment prescribed by the doctor. Sometimes that doesn't work and they do surgery, but it said that's rare. The only pediatrician who takes Tricare is 30 minutes away and we always have to wait a minimum of 3-4 hours to see him. I would also be dragging 4 homeschooled children with me, and my husband would have to relinquish our one car which he drives to work. He is willing to take the day off work and take her by himself if need be. If we have to go, then we will. But I want to try other avenues first. Has anyone had experience with this and can perhaps recommend something over the counter or another remedy that worked for them? My daughter is 5 if that makes any difference. I'd like to see what we can do for her before dragging her in to be poked and prodded.

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So What Happened?

It's been a little while now. We have been using warm washcloths and washing it gently. After just a few days it started scabbing up and looking gross like a cold sore does. Now it's getting smaller and looking like it won't be too much longer before it's gone. Thank you so much for the advice. I'm glad I asked her before dragging her in for what would have been an unnecessary trip. And next time she wants to use makeup, she will be using makeup remover when she's done.

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E.R.

answers from Jacksonville on

Try warm compresses (4 times per day for a minimum of 5 minutes per session). If there's not much improvement, call her peditrician and see if he/she will call in an ophthalmic antibiotic ointment to use on the affected area. The pediatrician is not going to remove the chalazion if it doesn't get better, so the next best bet would be to make an appointment with a pediatric opthalmologist who would be able to take care of the problem (whether it be removal or oral antibiotics).

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J.T.

answers from Orlando on

My daughter had one on her lower lid when she was 2 or 3 and it took many months to go away. She also developed one on her upper lid which is not red, but has never fully gone away at 51/2. (they can stay forever unless removed.) I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but she needs to go to an eye doctor. Pediatric if you can, but call around and look into who will see her. When we took our daughter to the regular pediatrician they put her on antibiotics, which we learned later were worthless in this case. If you can start the proper drops within a week of it showing up, then they often help. Otherwise, they are usually useless-according to our pediatric ophthalmologist. If it is a stye, it may go away easier but requires the same home treatment. A chalazion is actually a clogged tear duct or oil gland. It may have something to do with makeup, but very well may not.
What you can do right now is warm compresses. Heat up a mug of water-not too hot. You can add salt as well. Use makeup cotton squares or rounds, again on Dr.'s advise, they work the best. Just get one wet with very warm water and hold it on the eye. Change out for fresh warm compress for five to ten minutes. I know that sounds like a lot, but let her watch TV(with the other eye) while you do it. Also, you can use a clean cloth or the pads and wash her eyelid with baby shampoo each night. A tip form another ophthalmologist.
I hope this helps. Good luck.

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N.K.

answers from Miami on

I get these maybe 2 or 3 times a year because of my bad habit of sleeping in makeup, but I never saw an eye doctor nor did I get drops or antibiotics. The treatment I followed was that I made sure to remove my eye makeup ASAP after I walked through the front door of my house, and used baby shampoo to wash out my eye, twice a day. I also tried the chamomile soaked in cotton balls immediately after washing with the baby shampoo. The ideal thing is to not apply eye makeup to the affected area, which as a woman, is difficult not to do, but luckily, you can just claim you're wearing nude eyeshadow and most people are too busy to notice your eyeshadow is missing! Proper and constant hygiene of the eye will ensure the pores can open up and breathe; it will go away on its own, as it has always happened with me. If anything, I recommend trying this and if it doesn't work, THEN I would see a doctor, but it has always worked for me, so I don't see why you'd need to see the doctor.

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S.L.

answers from Boca Raton on

I had the same thing a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure if it was a sty or maybe poison ivy because I had that at the time too. Turns out it was just as your daughter has. A small blockage because of make-up. They told me to do warm compresses once or twice a day and it would go away. I just let the shower water fall onto it. They did give me a prescription which I stupidly filled - it cost $50 even with good insurance for a tiny tube of ointment (besides the $45 co-payment for the eye doctor). I only used the ointment once as it made it hard to see. Turns out it went away on its own.

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J.R.

answers from Miami on

consult with a dr./nurse about the following: try putting chamomile tea bags in boiled sterilized or bottled water for a few seconds. let the solution cool and place cotton balls in it and place it gently on your daughters eyes.

in addition, try cleaning the area with a drop of baby shampoo.

do these things several times a day for a few days to keep the area clean.

this is what i did for me as a young adult...

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L.N.

answers from New York on

yes, we had one on my 5 year old daughter this past summer. she got it after playing with make-up (note to self: never buy kids' make-up).
we went and saw an eye doctor who prescribed eye ointment which did NOTHING.
the only thing that helped get rid of it was wet a cloth, put it in microwave for 15 seconds, then inside a ziploc bag and then on her eye until it got cold. make sure the ziploc bag isn't hot when you put in in her eye. it needs to be warm. i learned after doing it for weeks that 15 secs in microwave was good temperature afterwards to put on her eye.
i did it about 8 times a day. i even tried tea bags but those were messy and my daughter resisted the teabags, not the warm cloth.
you need to be consistent, do it 5-7 times a day, every day, even when it looks it's getting better. do it until it's all gone. if i remember right, it took us 3-4 weeks until it was all gone. by the way, i stopped the eye ointment after about 10 days of using it. it didn't help at all. i called the eye doctor and asked why wasn't it helping and he said the warm compress helps more.
so you don't need to go see an eye doctor necessarily, but mind this, if you don't do the warm compress regularly the chalezione can get worse, to the point that it will swell the eyelid and then would have to have it drained.
good luck

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B.C.

answers from Ocala on

the only thing i can think of is hot compresses that is what they do for styes hope it works. but be careful this is her eye we are talking about. good luck.

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B.G.

answers from Miami on

Hi L., my daughter had this when she was about 3, I took her to the eye Dr and he told me that it would either go away by itself or had to be surgically removed but he preferred to wait it out. He told me it would help to put something warm on it everyday so he said a trick that worked better than warm moist towels, that cool down too quickly, was to boil an egg and wait until it is warm, not too hot, and hold it on the bump as long as you can. He said an egg will stay warmer longer and its easier than holding a wet dripping cloth on the eye of a fussy toddler lol It took about 6 to 7 months before it went away. She just woke up one morning and it was gone. Hope this helps.
B.

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D.W.

answers from Gainesville on

Here's the thing-it's her eye. You don't want to mess around with that. Yes, it's a hassle for your family to get to the doctor but this is her eye we are talking about and not something you want to self-diagnose. Plan the day out-have snacks, drinks and activities/school work with you for the day. That way everyone stays busy while you wait.

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R.L.

answers from Tampa on

Hi L.
Sorry to hear that your little girl has to go through this and if it is anything like a sty try to rub a solid gold ring over the bump every morning and night. My Grandmother used to do that to me as a child and I did to my daughters when they would get them. I does not work right away and does take a few day but it works on a sty. Hope it helps! Have a blessed day!

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B.T.

answers from Jacksonville on

Warm water compress and wash the eye with a baby shampoo and water solution. Be prepared...when it opens up, oily drainage will seep into her eye and gunk it up.

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R.S.

answers from Tampa on

I just took my son to the eye doctor yesterday with the same or very similar problem. My son had one before, and we only took him to the doctor because he told me I should, and I have insurance. Anyway, I put a hot washcloth on his eye for 15 to 20 minutes, and then I use these eyelash washing pads that you can get at walmart or walgreens. With the pad I massage gently back and forth across the eye 3 times and then down past the bump and away from the eye. I repeat this about 8 times and then I have an antibiotic to put on it. I then am to repeat this 4 times a day. He almost didn't give me the antibiotic, so I think you could try this method without the antibiotic and get good results. I hope this helps.

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K.M.

answers from Tampa on

Hot compresses, and all the immune system boosting things- NO SUGAR, none, zip zero zilch nada,
see Weston Price. com for good diet.
Also check Dr. Bruce West at Health Alert.
Well done for not wanting to drag her off for a doctor that would have you wait 3 hours with kids.
best, k

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D.P.

answers from Miami on

Hi L. pls contact Pediatrics.com for all matters pertaining to your children.

Regards,
D. P.

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