Chalazion in Toddler

[jessia]

My two year old has a pea sized chalazion on her lower right lid for 2 months.  We saw a  pediatric opthamologist who gave us the option of surgery or doing nothing.  I am wondering what the risks are to not having it removed?  It is really not a bother to her and cosmetically it is only noticeable when looking at her from the side.  We were not at all consistent about compresses initially, but have been doing them at least twice daily now.  Is it too late for us to try this therapy?  Should we try steriods prior to a surgical intervention? Thank you

[JohnHaganMD]

That's a common problem as you can tell if you read back through these posts. If the chalazions are small and not bothersome waiting is an option. However if they are large, uncomfortable, inflammed then surgery may be advisable.  There is a new product called Ocusoft Plus Platinum foam eyelid cleaner it comes also as "wipes" Its not a prescription product. The "Platinum" is hard to find as new product. Easy to order on the internet at Amazon.com  You might try that.

[vivienthang]

hi Dr. Hagan, my baby is 1 year old, he developed the chalazion on his left eye and first my pedia prescribe fucithalmic and after a week we fed him egg and the eye swollen again and then the dr. prescribe tobradex, which contain steroid, is that helpful in curing the chalazion? thank you

[JohnHaganMD]

A short course of antibiotic/steroid drop is often worth trying but there is a high failure rate.

[MFCG]

Hi, my2-year and 1 month old daughter has these lumps in the eye for 4 months now. At first we thought those were just sties, and it went on and then off a bit and then gets red again and somehow now it becomes dry but still red. THe other two in her upper and lower eyelid of the right eye are also still there. It's definitely not a sty probably though her ophthalmologist said those are sties. The bigger one in her upper eyelid sometimes is noticeable and sometime not..the eye doctor gave us antibiotics and eyedrops to be used for 7 days (tomorrow will be the 7th day) and after which if nothing happens, we may consider minor OPD surgery. I feel like I am not ready for that surgery because my daughter is still small and I am kinda afraid. I do not notice any big change really. It is still there. But it seems that they do not bother my child. She is still her usual self, thankfully. But it bothers me looking at her with those small lumps in the eyes. What should I do? It is a challenge to do those hot compresses. She really gets irritated.

[Numom2013]

Hi, my daughter is also 3 and just start with chalazion for almost a month. can you tell me more about surgery because i'm really scared did you kid have a scar afterward..do you have a pic i can see? i really don't want my baby girl to have a scar ...i'm so scared..please help

[Numom2013]

Hello Dr. how long is the longest I can wait and not get surgery done? My daughter is 3 year old and the chalazion is almost 1 month now. I'm doing warm compresses everyday....already done the eye drop anitibiooc but didn't work. already did oral antibiotic but didn't work either...so continuing to do warm compress in hope it will go away by itself but not yet. So my question is how long can I wait? because I really don't want a surgery for a 3 year old. thank you.

[Numom2013]

Hello, how did you get the chalazion to go away on its own? my daughter been having it for almost a month and i'm so worried. thanks

[Numom2013]

does your daughter have a scar after the surgery?

[mahi0]

Dear Dr,
Hello
It's been 6 month since we noticed a chalazion in my baby's upper right eye & it's becoming more noticable,  i don't know what to do. Would u kindly recommend me what I should do to getvrid of it.
It would mean a lot to me if u get back to me.
Thank u.

[Ashbruce1]

Hello dr. I never post online or anything, but this really was something that scared me and my husband lastnight. My 3 yr old daughter has 1 chalazion on each eye, theyve been there for about 1 month, i do warm compress 3 times a day, followed by antibiotic eye ointment, and they have been draining lately. The first time there was lots of puss filled blood coming out, and the bump deflated a bit, and ever since that they drain a little bit more every other day, but lastnight is what my main concern is. Shes been sick with the flu so shes been throwing up, and lastnight when she was vomitting, she was holding it in running to the bathroom, and when she looked back up at me, both her eyeballs were filled with blood!! Really red dark blood. It litterly looked like she was crying out blood tears. Ive never seen anything like this in my life, me and my husband were both on the verge of fainting while we were trying to calm my little girl down. It was unbelievably scarey. I have a appointment to see her dr tomorrow. But where i live i dont have the access to a eye doctor, so thats why i would like to ask someone else. Once she was alright, and i cleaned up her eyes, got all the blood away...and ohhh my gosh there was lots! I noticed that where the chalazions have been draining from. That little cut was open, and there was still a little bit of blood coming out. So i kinda came to the conclusion myself that all that blood came from her chalazions. So my question is, is that normal? Has this happened to anyone else? Because i searched everywhere on google, and couldnt find ANYTHING like it! Im soooo scared, and cant get the image out of my head!

I hope to hear back soon.
Thanks for listening
-Ashley

[Juscor]

Hi Ashley, that actually happened to my little one the other day, blood came out. How’s your little one now any updates? Did it clear up since it’s been few years?

[vandiegurl1984]

Dear Dr. Hagan,
     My 3 year old daughter has been having recurrent chalazia for the last 8 months. I have been to several opthamologists, all of whom tell me the same thing: it's merely an overproduction of oil by the meibomian gland that's getting trapped in her pores and causing the unsightly chalazia, and that "a tincture of time" will resolve everything. I've been doing everything they've suggested: warm compresses 3 times a day, washing her eyelid margins with baby shampoo twice a day, and giving her 2 tsps. of flaxseed oil for months now, and nothing seems to help. One doctor prescribed erythromycin (which did nothing) and a few weeks later, another doctor prescribed neomycin and polmyxin b ointment. This did reduce the size of the 3 lipogranulomas in her left eye (the eyelid is still a bit swollen); however, two more showed up on the opposite eye two days later, even though I'm consistently treating both eyes. Is there anything else you can suggest I try? I really feel defeated because no matter what I do, I can't seem to get these chalazia under control, and it breaks my heart the way people look at her when we're out in public. Thank you so much for your time.  

[Juscor]

Hi. Did it ever resolve, my daughter is going through the same thing

[epcallaghan]

My 4 year old son has had a chalazion for 4 months. It has gradually grown in size so that it is half the length of his lower eyelid and sticks way out from his face. A few days ago I noticed the top of the chalazion was white like a pimple coming to a head and now it has ruptured and is oozing. It is a rather large open wound and looks almost like the chalazion is almost sticking out of his skin. Is this normal? I am at a loss as to what to do. We have done the warm compresses, drops, ointment and SteriLid cleanses. What do I do? It is a constant battle to get him to constantly be warming his eye and cleaning it.

[Juscor]

Did it ever clear up? How is he now, I have that problem with my 4.yo

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

As you can see from review of this discussion thread it is a common problem. It is unlikely you will get a response from prvious posters as old discussion. However the advice still stands. If there is something unusual then start a new discussion

[cheerupbuttercup]

My daughter too has had chalazions since she was a year old. Some seem to not amount to much and disappear quickly while one that was very large had Tobramycin and Dexamethasone prescribed for it. Eventually it just becomes huge and pops (this one in particular took 7 months). Essentially they are just eye pimples. Our Ophthalmologist advised us that the last thing you would want is surgery and that chalazions usually just go away on there own. He also advised to not use antibiotics unless absolutely necessary and to eat a healthy diet... It can be frustrating in an aesthetic sense and you have to have patience. We are still dealing with these little buggers but keeping the eye area free of "eye snot" seems to help... not like a 21 month year old really enjoys have her face washed in general! The only thing our doctor told us to watch out for was signs of infection.

[mommy2anya]

We are going to go through this too, I think. Thanks for the insight...V helpful to know that the last resort wasn't so bad...!!

[bellevictorino]

Hello sir, i think i have a chalazia it doesn't cause pain but it is very noticeable. hot compresses doesn't work for me. any suggestion of ointment or eye drops or should i go to a doctor and have a surgery? thanks a lot.

[arumother]

hi, i have a nine month old son he develop a boil on the lower eyelid. We felt it was a sty and would heal on its own. It is 12 days and the sty had not healed. I consultated a General Practioner he prescribed CEFPODOXIME PROXTIL  + POTASSIUM CLAVULANATE suspension for 6 days (5ml twice daily)

kindly advice whether alternately home remedies to be used.

I am based in India

[lim27]

Thank you for your informative blog. Are chalazions preventative? Are there any specific vitamins, fruits or vegetables we can ensure to include in our kids nutrition to prevent the blocking of the oil gland?

[bmom123]

My 3 year old son got the first Chalazion on the left eye in June and it was inside the lid by September he got a larger chalazion outside the right eyelid.  The left eye chalazion has gone away,but the right eye one that is external burst with pus in October and is still red and looks infected. He has been on antibiotics in form of drops,ointment and most recently oral antibiotics and the eyelid is still red and a bit swollen.  What can we do? and is there a chance that this could be a form of eyelid cancer should we be concerned?
Thank You for your time.

[cheesesuperstar]

my three year old daughter had four chalazia (three on one eye, one large one on the other) and i read everything i could find about them on the internet.  this site was very helpful to me, so i wanted to share our experience with other parents who are going through the same distress.  my daughter's chalazia developed over a couple of months, but i didn't know that's what they were.  they started as redness or irritation, and ended up as inflamed, red bulges.  it was bad enough that people stared and then looked away quite often and they kept getting worse.  i was going nuts!  her ped referred us to a pediatric opthamologist who prescribed some antibiotic ointment and encouraged us to keep doing the hot compresses and said they'd eventually go away.  they kept getting worse.  at this point i took her to another ped opthamologist for a second opinion.  he said they needed to be removed, and before we knew it he had removed all four of them.  they used laughing gas so she was out- but didn't have the difficulties she'd had with what they used when she had ear tubes put in.  all of her chalazia except one were "outies", so there were a few stitches visible that he said would dissolve.  there was nothing visible on the "innie".  it's been a week and literally it looks as if there's nothing there except a little bit of residual pinkness where the stitches were.  i don't think there wll be a scar.  i was nervous about surgery, so i figured that there were some other parents who were also.  i am very glad we opted to do it and i wish we had done it earlier.  we spent an immense amount of time and energy on hot compresses (not easy on a three year old!)- i even tried tea bags and epsom salt compresses- nothing worked and they just kept getting worse.  so for us, the surgery was a miracle!  i'd be happy to answer any questions about our experience from anybody.  good luck, parents- these things are no fun!  hang in there.  this too shall pass...  :)  

[jaxsmom6609]

my son is 17 months old and for some time now has had something going on w/ his eyes.  they come and go, and for the most part, it was more of a raised bump underneath his eye, that seemed to disappear when he was rested.  However, yesterday, we noticed that on top of both eyelids was what looked like the start of a pimple.  Our nephew has had a chalazion that ruptured, and in reading all of these posts, I am pretty confident that my son has the same thing.  I just ran out to get the ocusoft pads and foam cleanser, but was unable to find the cleanser, so I got the Thera tears foam cleanser instead.  I am a little concerned b/c it has a warning not to use it on children younger than 3 years.  Do you think this is ok to use on my 17 month old?

[arana]

My 4th year old daughter has a chalazion which started August.  Early Sept, the eye dr indicated that she has some wrinkles underneath her yes which are caused by allergies, and probably the fact that she touches her eyes, etc, caused the chalazion.  The dr prescribed some eye drops for the eye allergies, and a gel AzaSite- which didnt do anything. Some days it looked like it was healing, but then went back to keep growing.  Last Thursday,we went back to the drs office, but a different dr saw her and prescribed oral antibiotics because he thought it was inflamed and probably infected.  After a week yesterday,we are on the 3rd oral antibiotic, because she is either getting side effects and/or is not able to take the medicine without fighting and crying because they taste very bad. One of the antibiotics is Clarithromycin, and just got yesterday Amoxycillin.  I just wanted to know the real signs of an infected chalazion (per some posts here, hers has no blood or any drainage), are there any bad side effects if antibiotics are mixed with food/juice/milk?, and if there are other antibiotic ointments or gels that can be used, and not necessarily be taken orally.  I've been also trying to do the warm compresses and just keep hoping that it helps.  Please let me know your thoughts.  I will buy tomorrow the lid cleaner/foams that you mention in many of your responses.  Thank you in advance.  

[jc711]

Hello.

I am glad that I found this forum to share the stories. My 3yr old daughter has two chalazion on her eyelid which last 4 months ago.  I took her to the doctor and he told us to do the hot compresses and also prescribed a antibiotics call "cephalexin". Is it okay to take this drug or should I just con't doing hot compresses. Worse scenerio is that we might get surgery for her.

[Jess05]

I have a 4 1/2 year old daughter who developed two chalazion on her eyelid 7 weeks ago.  I took her to the dr and he prescribed me a antibiotic/steroid cream.  I have applied it once a day at night for 14 days prior to the hot compress.  The chalazions still there and seems redder and bigger, as it is about to pop.  Is this ok or is this an indication that that it is getting better?  I have an appt with the dr in two weeks again.  is it safe to continue using the antiobiotic cream a little longer?   I will clean her eyelid tonite with the cleansers you recommended to other concerned moms.  Thank you and I appreciate your time.

[Nessa701]

My 2 yr old had a chalazion on her lower left eye lid since Dec 2009, We went to 3 different pediatricians( 1 in NYC and 2 in Florida) we were told to was her eyelids with baby shampoo and doing warm compresses as often as possible..nothing seemed to work. The chalazion looked like a pimple full of pus ready to burst.I was doing research on line came across your response to another member advising to visit aao.org to find an opthalmologist. I came across Dr Weiner in Aventura Florida. He prescribed an eyedrop called AzaSite and advised to continue doing warm compresses as often as possible. We went back to see him 3 weeks later and I must tell you I saw more improvement in 3 weeks than the last 3 months of only washing her lids with baby shampoo and compresses. We have another appointment Friday and it is almost completely gone. Thank you so much for referring people to that site...if not for you I would have never came across Dr Ira G Weiner. Thanks again.

[nlnvcd]

My daughter, 2 years old, went to an eye md on Monday 1/25/2010 and she says my daughter has chalazion, she prescribed tobradex oinment to apply on the surface of the chalazion. We started the med on Tuesday night and today Wedesday there were oozy stuff (some blodd) in the chalazion area. Is that normal? should i continue with the oinment? would there be a scar after this? is there anything i can do to prevent this later on? thank you so much

here's a picture of her eye

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/nlnvcd/sarah.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/nlnvcd/IMG_0204.jpg[/IMG]

[potoulap]

Are chalazions contagious?  My husband had one in each eye and within a few days one appeared in my daughter's eye.  This happened over the summer. We did the compresses and nothing has happened. It has been almost 6 mos and it hasn't gotten better, as a matter of fact, it actually looked more swollen and red today. Is it time to give up the compresses and seek a pediatric optho?