If you are frequently plagued by styes, your eyecare practitioner may prescribe an antibiotic ointment to prevent recurrences. Styes formed inside the eyelid either disappear completely or rarely rupture on their own, and they can be more serious. These styes may need to be opened and drained by your eyecare practitioner. Often mistaken for a stye, a chalazion is an enlarged blocked oil gland in the eyelid. A chalazion mimics a stye for the first few days, then turns into a painless hard, round bump later on.
Most chalazions are further from the eyelid edge than styes.
Although the same treatment speeds the healing of a chalazion, it may linger from one month to several months. If the chalazion remains after several months, your eyecare practitioner may drain it or inject a steroid to spur healing. For more articles about eye conditions and diseases, use the pull-down menu at the top of this page . Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .