Chalazion Management

What Is a Chalazion?

Your eyelids have small oil glands, called meibomian glands, just below the base of your eyelashes. These glands generate an oily substance to lubricate your eyes. But when those glands get clogged, they become inflamed and eventually form a growth that’s referred to as a chalazion. It’s also known as a meibomian cyst.

A chalazion begins gradually as a small, red bump on your eyelid that may be painful. The condition isn’t an infection, however. After a few days, the pain usually subsides, but the cyst keeps growing. It can reach the size of a pea. While a chalazion tends to form on your upper eyelid, one may appear on the lower one, as well.

Although chalazia, which is the plural for a chalazion, occur most often in adults between the ages of 30 to 50, they do occasionally appear in children. If you suffer from this condition, visit our eye care center at Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York. VRMNY has some of the best retina doctors for the excision of chalazion in New York City. They’re top-rated ophthalmologists who specialize in chalazion management.

Do Home Treatments for Chalazion Work?

The majority of chalazia require very little medical care. Many tend to disappear on their own after a week or so. After visiting your eye doctor in NYC to ensure you don’t have an infection or another underlying condition, you may be advised to try some techniques that include:

• Warm towel compress. Apply a warm towel to the chalazion on your eye for 10 to 15 minutes, four to six times per day for several days. The heat and compression from the wet towel loosen the oil that has clogged up the ducts in your eye glands, getting it to drain and eventually heal. Use a soft, clean cloth and moisten it frequently in warm water for the best results.
• Combination treatment. Combine the warm compress with a gentle massage to the external portion of your eyelid for several minutes. This improves your circulation and promotes drainage.
• Over-the-counter treatments. Try a sterile lubricant eye ointment or an eye-irrigating solution like an eye wash. Medicated pads keep your eye area clean, as well.
• Common sense. Once your chalazion has drained and cleared up, keep the area around your eye clean. Avoid touching your eyes with your hands, too. If you’ve had one chalazion, you’re at risk to get another.

Under no circumstances should you attempt to squeeze the cyst to try to force it to drain. Do not try to pop it, either. Any pressure applied to your chalazion only makes it worse. Avoid using makeup or contact lenses until the cyst has completely healed. If your chalazion cyst doesn’t drain with these at-home treatments, you may need further intervention from one of the expert ophthalmologists at VRMNY.

Are Injections Effective Chalazion Treatments?

If your VRMNY ophthalmologist decides that your chalazion may respond well to injection therapy, the doctor may inject a corticosteroid called triamcinolone acetonide. This safe, simple in-office procedure has proven to be a successful method of chalazion removal, according to a scientific study published by the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine. In the study of 24 cases, the results concluded with:

• A complete recovery in 88 percent of the cases
• Most cases recovered with a single injection

Corticosteroid injections are particularly effective when there’s no secondary infection of the chalazion. In that case, the success rate is nearly 100 percent. Injection therapy is highly recommended if you or your child is allergic to local anesthetics. Eye doctors also prefer this method of eye cyst removal if your chalazion is too close to the duct that drains your tears to your nasal passage, known as the lacrimal punctum. Your VRMNY ophthalmologists are experienced in this technique.

What Is a Chalazion Excision Procedure?

If neither a warm compress nor corticosteroid injections successfully remove your chalazion, your VRMNY ophthalmologist may decide that chalazion excision surgery is necessary. This is always the last option considered, and if necessary, your ophthalmologist performs this surgical procedure on a convenient outpatient basis. Preparation for the procedure involves:

• No food for children from the night before the chalazion surgery
• No makeup the day of your chalazion excision surgery
• Arranging for a friend or relative to drive you to the office and home after the procedure

Your ophthalmologist usually needs between 10 and 20 minutes to perform your outpatient eye stye removal. The procedure follows a series of steps that include:

1. Your ophthalmologist begins by administering a local anesthetic to numb the area around the cyst.
2. The doctor then places a clamp on your eyelid to hold it still during the chalazion excision procedure.
3. After making a tiny incision at the chalazion, the eye doctor uses a specialized instrument to remove the cyst.

What To Expect for Recovery From Chalazion Excision Surgery?

You can expect a speedy recovery after your eye cyst removal treatment at VRMNY. Post-surgery recovery treatments usually include:

• Over-the-counter medication to subdue any pain you may experience
• A prescribed antibiotic to prevent a possible infection, if necessary
• Keeping your eyelid as clean as possible afterward
• No contact lenses for at least one week following your eye stye removal
• Use of a cold compress on your eyes to inhibit swelling

When you choose VRMNY for your eye care, you can expect the best eye cyst treatment and advice. Contact the top ophthalmologists for the excision of your chalazion to schedule your initial consultation in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Westchester.