It’s common to want to pop a pimple, but if you have something that looks like a pimple in or around your eye area, it’s important to resist popping it at all costs. Trying to pop one of these bumps is likely to result in it not going away, and instead becoming more uncomfortable and prominent.
What Are Eyelid Bumps?
Eyelid bumps can be a cause for concern, but most are benign. The most common types include styes, chalazia, and xanthelasma. Understanding their causes, symptoms, and treatments is key to managing them effectively.
Stye (Hordeolum)
A stye, also known as a hordeolum, is a small, painful lump on the outside or inside of your eyelid. It may have a different color than your skin due to swelling. Styes are usually caused by a clogged or infected oil gland in your eyelid. These glands produce oil that helps keep your eyes healthy and lubricated. When a gland gets blocked, bacteria can take hold, leading to the formation of a stye. A stye looks like a pimple and might be sore, but it's not usually serious and won't affect your vision. It happens when one of the glands along your eyelid is clogged and irritated, just like when a skin gland on your face becomes a pimple.
A stye is the most common type of red bump on the eyelid, particularly in adults aged between 30-50 years. Our eyelids contain a large number of tiny glands that work to keep our eyes healthy, and styes are usually caused by an infection within one of these glands.
Types of Styes:
- External Stye: This type forms on the outer edge of your eyelid, typically near the base of your eyelashes. It's the most common type and usually appears as a red, painful bump with a visible whitehead at its center. An infection in your eyelash follicle usually causes them.
- Internal Stye: This type forms on the inner side of your eyelid, closer to your eye. Internal styes may not be visible at first, but you'll likely experience discomfort, a feeling of something stuck in your eye, and possibly redness inside your eyelid. An infection in the inner eyelid gland that produces oils causes them.
Causes and Risk Factors for Styes
Bacterial infection is the primary cause of styes. Bacteria can enter a clogged oil gland through various means, including touching your eyes with unwashed hands, using contaminated makeup or contact lenses, or having a chronic skin condition like blepharitis. Sometimes, even without bacteria, a blocked oil gland can lead to a stye due to factors such as dry eyes, hormonal changes, or improper eyelid hygiene.
Risk factors that may increase your likelihood of developing a stye include:
- A past history of styes
- Blepharitis (an inflammation of your eyelids)
- Certain skin conditions, like acne, rosacea, or dandruff
- Diabetes
- Dry skin
- Changing hormones
- High lipid levels (“bad” cholesterol)
Recurrent styes may be due to chronic conditions such as blepharitis (clogged oil ducts) or rosacea. Styes are not contagious, but in rare instances, bacteria may spread between others if common items like towels or pillowcases are shared.
Symptoms of a Stye
The main symptom of a stye is a painful, discolored bump along your eyelid edge near your eyelashes. Other symptoms may include:
- Swelling of your eyelid (sometimes your entire eyelid)
- Discharge from your eye
- Crusting along your eyelid
- Light sensitivity
- Soreness and itching
- Extra tearing
- A scratchy sensation or the feeling that something’s in your eye
Treating a Stye
A stye doesn’t usually last very long and will often resolve on its own after a few days, or within one or two weeks. Most styes heal within a few days and can be easily treated at home.
Home Remedies:
- Use a warm compress: A warm compress is one of the most effective ways to help in treating blocked glands. The warmth can manage the pain and irritation, reduce swelling, help bring pus to the surface, and encourage natural drainage of pus and oil. Hold a clean, warm washcloth against your closed eyelid for 2 to 5 minutes at a time. The water should be as warm as you can handle, but take care not to burn yourself. You can do this up to 20 times a day. You might notice discharge after using a warm compress. After washing your hands, soak a clean washcloth in very warm (but not hot) water and put it over the stye. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes several times a day. When the cloth is no longer warm, repeat the process. You may repeat this process for 15 minutes four times a day over the course of several days.
- Gentle Massage: You can also massage the area gently with a clean finger to promote drainage and clean away bacteria, trying to get the clogged gland to open and drain.
- Lid Hygiene: Keep your face and eyes clean. Get rid of any crust around your eye. Baby shampoo is an inexpensive, gentle cleanser. Wash your eyelids every couple of days with watered-down baby shampoo on a washcloth, or use an over-the-counter lid scrub.
- Pain Relief: Take pain relievers like ibuprofen if the area is sore.
What to Avoid:
- Avoid irritating your eye: If possible, avoid wearing any makeup or eye creams while you have a stye, or wearing contact lenses, as these can irritate your eye and delay the healing process. Don’t wear eye makeup while you have a stye. Wear glasses instead of contact lenses while you have a stye. After it’s healed, clean and disinfect your lenses before putting them in again, or switch to a new pair.
- Do not pop a stye: Because the stye looks like a pimple, you might want to squeeze or pop it. Don't do that. It can spread the infection or make it worse. Improperly popping a stye can lead to further infection or inflammation.
When to See a Doctor:
While most styes are self-limiting, there are situations where seeking professional medical attention is recommended:
- If your stye persists for over a week despite home remedies, or if it gets worse.
- If your eye (not just your eyelid) hurts a lot.
- If you can't see well or experience vision changes.
- If your eyelid swells, turns very red, and won't open all the way.
- If the stye won't go away on its own or if you have trouble seeing.
- If your eye swells shut.
- If pus or blood leaks from the bump.
- If pain and/or swelling increase after the first two to three days.
- If blisters form on your eyelid.
- If your eyelids feel hot.
- If styes keep coming back.
Your doctor may prescribe antibiotic ointments or oral antibiotics if the skin surrounding the stye becomes infected (cellulitic), meaning the skin around the stye gets red, warm, and swollen. If the infection from the stye spreads to the surrounding skin, this is called cellulitis, which may cause red, swollen, or painful skin on your eyelid or the eye itself. Your doctor may also make a small cut (incision) to drain the stye under local anesthesia. A steroid injection might be given to reduce swelling.
Is That Bump on Your Eye a Stye or a Chalazion?
Chalazion (Eyelid Cyst)
A chalazion (pronounced ka-lay-zee-on) is also a swollen eyelid bump, sometimes called an eyelid cyst. Chalazia form when an oil gland or tear gland in your eyelid becomes blocked. They can develop slowly over time and grow into the size of a pea.
Symptoms of a Chalazion
A chalazion typically starts as a small, painless lump within the eyelid. It may cause some mild discomfort or a feeling of fullness. Unlike a stye, a chalazion usually isn’t painful and isn’t from a bacterial infection, though it can sometimes become secondarily infected.
Treating a Chalazion
Most chalazia require minimal medical treatment and clear up on their own within a month. Applying warm compresses may help soften the hardened oil that is blocking the ducts and allow drainage and healing. Create a warm compress by dipping a clean, soft cloth in warm water and then wringing it out. Re-moisten the cloth frequently to keep it wet and warm. As with styes, avoid irritating your eye by refraining from wearing makeup or contact lenses.
Xanthelasma
Xanthelasma (pronounced zan-th-e-laz-ma) are small, harmless yellow bumps that can develop when fatty deposits made of cholesterol build up underneath the skin around your eye area. Although the appearance of xanthelasma may trouble you, it’s encouraging to know that they’re harmless and usually don’t need treatment.
Causes of Xanthelasma
Xanthelasma is associated with elevated cholesterol levels in the blood. While they are benign, they can sometimes indicate an underlying lipid metabolism disorder.
Treating Xanthelasma
Since xanthelasma are generally harmless, treatment is often not medically necessary. However, if the appearance is a cosmetic concern, treatment options may include surgical excision, laser therapy, or cryotherapy. Addressing any underlying high cholesterol is also important.
When to Seek Professional Eye Care
While most eyelid bumps are mild or harmless, some can indicate a more severe condition. If you’re concerned about any eyelid bump, or if you're wondering when to see an eye doctor, it's best to book an appointment with a qualified eye care professional. Your eye doctor can help determine the cause of the bump and recommend the appropriate treatment.
See your eye care specialist if your stye lasts more than two to three weeks. If your symptoms are mild, you may try home treatment, or visit your primary care physician. See one of our ophthalmologists within one week if your stye has worsened or symptoms become severe. If symptoms are severe, see an ophthalmologist within one to two days.
