How are eyelid cysts treated?

"What is that small, hard bump on my eyelid?" It could be a cyst. Miss Sengal Nadarajah, consultant ophthalmologist in Surrey and Worthing, explains what eyelid cysts are and what might cause them. She discusses the best ways to treat them, if they persist, and explains why you shouldn't attempt to pop them, no matter how tempting it may be!  

How do eyelid cysts occur?

Along our lash lines, we have ducts that the glands in our eyelids drain through. Eyelid cysts occur when these ducts get obstructed causing the secretions to accumulate in the gland to form a lump or a cyst within the eyelid. 

How long do they last?

These cysts generally can last from weeks to months, they are of no great consequence to the eye, and they eventually go away in most cases. 

Will an eyelid cyst go away on its own? 

Generally, yes but sometimes they may become too solid and they won’t away on their own. In these cases, often warm compress or even a minor procedure might be needed. 

Can I pop a cyst on my eyelid?

It’s not advisable to pop the cyst on your own because it is quite a delicate area and you may cause further damage to the eye. When we do the procedure, we make a linear incision on the inner surface of the eyelid and we use a little scoop to drain the secretions so the scar isn’t noticeable when it heals. If you were to try and pop it because the secretions are quite solid, it would be difficult to drain it completely. 

How do you get rid of an eyelid cyst?

If the cyst doesn’t go away after a few months, and it bothers you, we would suggest a warm compress. You take a flannel, you put it in warm water, and then you put the towel over the eye. This helps to liquify the secretions and then you can massage the lump to help them flow and hopefully, that will drain the lump. You might have to do this, perhaps, twice a day for a couple of weeks before you actually get rid of it. If it doesn’t go, however, you might benefit from a minor procedure.

Very rarely a cyst can get infected, in that situation you may require antibiotics, but it would definitely need surgical treatment. For this procedure, you’ll be lying down and a local anaesthetic will be given to the area of the cyst. We use a small clip to compress around the cyst, then we make a linear incision and we use a little scope to scrape all the secretion out from the cyst. Following this, we suggest you put a compress on the cyst, on the area that was drained, to prevent bleeding. The patient will then be given a steroid ointment as a precautionary measure against possible infection. It will heal in about two to three days. As the incision is made on the inner side of the eyelid, there is no scar to be seen. 

This condition can sometimes reoccur, so the long-term management would be to continue with regular hygiene which is cleaning the eyelids along the lash line with boiled, cooled water with baby shampoo to stop the ducts from getting obstructed and prevent the reoccurrence of cysts on the eyelid.

If you have an eyelid cyst and would like to book a consultation with Miss Sengal Nadarajah, you can do so by visiting her Top Doctors profile.