An eyelid growth is a red lump that appears on your eyelid, specifically on the edge where the lashes meet your upper or lower lid. Although these are usually harmless, they can be quite irritating or even painful at times, and it’s best that you address them as soon as possible.
Types of Eyelid Growths
At Houston Oculofacial, we’re familiar with a wide variety of eyelid growths. Usually, eyelid growths are of two different types: chalazia and styes. Here is how you can differentiate between the two:
• Generally, a stye causes pain or discomfort, while a chalazion does not.
• A stye is red in color most of the time. A chalazion is not in most cases.
• While a stye can swell up to the size of your entire eyelid, a chalazion does not grow as big.
• While a stye develops around your lashes, a chalazion can develop on or inside your lid.
• A stye is caused when your eyelid is infected by bacteria, while a chalazion is caused when an oil gland swells up and is blocked because of bacteria on your skin.
Treating Eyelid Growths
First, you have to keep in mind that you should not pop or squeeze your eyelid growth. Don’t keep touching it either, as this can only worsen the infection.
The best thing to do is to treat it with a warm compress four times a day. Each time, hold the warm compress on your eyelid growth for about 10 minutes. This will encourage the stye or chalazion to drain or will loosen the blockage, helping you with the healing process.
Always ensure that before applying a warm compress, your hands are clean and free from bacteria. The cotton ball or washcloth you use for the warm compress must be clean every time.
Medical Solutions at Houston Oculofacial
If your eyelid growth worsens and becomes extremely swollen despite having treated it with a warm compress at home, you should contact Dr. Mirwat Sami as soon as possible. This is especially important if it starts to affect your vision.
Dr. Sami will help you treat it using either a steroid injection or a minor surgery. If the swelling of your eyelid growth affects your vision, then you will most likely be given a steroid injection, cortisone in particular. This helps to reduce the swelling.
However, if this does not work and your infection only seems to get worse, then Dr. Sami can perform a minor surgery in our office. Dr. Sami will use a tiny sterile needle to drain your eyelid growth. A few of your lashes, especially those close to the stye or chalazion, may have to be removed for this.
Until your eyelid growth is completely healed, make sure that you do not wear any eye makeup or contact lenses, as any contact with the eyes will hinder your healing process.
Get Your Eyelid Growth Dealt With
Dr. Mirwat Sami, a board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, has the experience needed to correctly address your stye or chalazion. To learn more about your treatment options, contact us today for a consultation.
