Activated Charcoal

I've had a few chalazion in my right eye for quite some time now, over a year. I've tried everything; apple cider vinegar, epsom salt, hot compresses, steam facials, etc. One day, I found a post (on here, actually) about activated charcoal. I've heard a lot of great things about its benefits, so I decided to try it. I mixed about 3 tablespoons of activated charcoal, 2 tablespoons of flaxseed (ground), and added about a half cup of water. I let the mixture sit for about 15-20 minutes to thicken. It should have the consistency of a paste. I got a paper towel, put a spoonful of the mixture on it, folded it over to enclose the mixture, and placed it over my eye. I also put a sandwich bag over the towel to prevent the mixture from drying, and wrapped gauze around my head to keep it in place. I slept about 7 hours with it on my eye, and when I woke up, I noticed my bottom eyelid got bigger, and when I pulled down my eyelid, I noticed whitehead-like spots. I decided to continue the treatment, and I've been doing it for 2 days now. So far, a few of the chalazion (chalazia?) have popped on their own. I'm going to keep doing this every night before bed & hope they're all gone within the next few days.
By the way, I found all needed items on Amazon. Activated Charcoal powder, ground flaxseed. IMPORTANT: Do not mix activated Charcoal with anything metal. The Charcoal will pull the the impurities from the metal.
(New Jersey)
04/28/2017
Activated Charcoal

To treat a chalazion, I opened up an activated charcoal capsule, mixed with hot water, put on bump left for 30 seconds or so, washed off with baby shampoo and hot cloth. Noticed a big difference immediately. I thought to do this because it works with my white head zits, so thought to give it a try. After a few days, the bump was almost entirely gone. Someone else on this page mentioned a charcoal poultice too. Charcoal is known to absorb toxins, 5 times its own weight.
(Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
08/19/2014
(Uk)
10/05/2014
(Modesto)
10/07/2015
(Houston, Texas)
07/13/2016
Allergy Drops
My daughter who is five years old has had a chalazion for a couple of years. I did all that I read to do; used warm compresses and washed eye out, etc, but did not seem to help. I bought over the counter natural allergy drops for the eyes and it is clearing up very nicely!
(Vega Alta, Pr)
03/20/2012
(D.c., D.c. Usa)
06/10/2012
(Hillsboro, Oregon)
07/14/2012
(Livingstone, Southern Province)
09/28/2012
(Pakistan)
01/07/2014
(Tennessee, Usa)
01/07/2014
Dear Jaweria,
I am not Julie and she has not seemed to be back to Earth Clinic for some time. I do not know the name of the drops.
I do know a couple of things that you could try. Activated charcoal has been used before to help this condition.
http://www.charcoalremedies.com/chalazion
Here is how to make a charcoal poultice, about half way down the page:
http://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/charcoal2.html#poultice
You can also try chamomile tea bags. Pour hot water over tea bags to moisten. When cooled to a comfortable temperature, apply to each eye for 5-10 minutes 2-4 times a day.
Let us know how it goes!
~Mama to Many~
(Texas)
03/10/2014
I had a chalazion a couple years ago. I never had one before and I went to my doctor 2 times and 2 different specialist. The first time I went to the doctor, I was told that I had a stye. The doctor told me that it would go away on its own, but prescribed some antibiotics and told me to take it until the bottle was empty. Of course any doctor will say to keep a warm compress on the eye. I put a warm compress on the eye constantly during this time frame and my eye would look like it was going down, but the next morning it looked swollen again and my eyelashes would be sealed shut. I went back to the doctor and we decided to lance the chalazion. The doctor flipped my eyelid and gave me a shot to numb the eyelid, but it didn't work. I felt the entire procedure. I had to wear an eye patch for a day. When I took the patch off, my eye was still swolen. It eventually went down and then I got a chalazion in my other eye.
I decided to go to my optometrist next. The doctor told me that the stye would go away on its own with warm compresses. I told him that I had been using the compresses and it didn't seem like it was working, not to mention that I hated getting up every few minutes to warm the compress so that I could keep holding it on my eye. The doctor prescribed me some eye drops. I used the drops, but this did not work.
I went to a specialist and he reiterated what the other doctors said, but he gave some good information. He told me that I didn't have a stye, but a chalazion. He told me that we could remove my glands, but my chalazion wasn't big and this was the first time I had it so he said that would be extreme. This doctor gave me a prescription for a different antibiotic. I took those pills until I came across a post about apple cider vinegar. I didn't dilute mine. I used a little ACV on a cotton ball and just swiped my eyelid a couple times a day. This burns a little bit, but it's not bad. Within a few days, the chalazion was gone. I haven't had any more problems and I wish I would have tried this to begin with. Although I have insurance, I still paid nearly $300 for 4 doctor visits and 4 prescriptions, not to mention going through a painful procedure where I felt everything. The ACV works!
(La)
03/10/2014
(Canada)
11/23/2017
Hi, I just wanted to clarify for people regarding warm compresses. They are actually made by taking some rice (or oats) and placing them in a clean cotton sock or enclosing in clean cotton material. Place that in the microwave for 1 & 1/2 to 2 minutes. This type of warm compress holds the heat and a little moisture. These should be applied to the eye for 10-15 minutes at a time.
Warming up a washcloth every few minutes doesn't work the same way as doing this. Before we had microwaves, people used hot water bottles to apply warm compresses.
Apple Cider Vinegar

Had a HUGE stye that turned into a chalazion and I was going at it hard with the hot compresses (4-5 times a day, at least 15 minutes at a time). This only made it get bigger. One thing to keep in mind is that heat increases sebum (oil) production in hair follicles, including the follicles of lashes. This can cause the follicles near the chalazion to clog up and impede drainage.
There's a good chance my follicles were already clogged by the huge stye my chalazion started out as. The excessive heat didn't help matters. Anyways, I decided to lay off the heat, just applying a compress twice a day, for 10 min at morning and 10 min at night.
I use the eye mask you can put in the microwave—it stays warm and you can easily re-heat. I bought mine from an optometry clinic but you can probably find one on Amazon. Anyways, I reduced compress use to 10 minutes at morning and night, followed by gentle pressure with cu-tip against the chalazion (as well as rolling it down the cyst toward the lash line).
In between doing this, so about 5 times a day, applied Apple cider vinegar with the “mother“ using a cu-tip. Dipped q-tip in vinegar, touched it against Kleenex so it wasn't dripping wet, then rolled q-tip over cyst and massaged gently into cyst, for about a minute. Got as close to the lash line as possible without getting any in my eye.
Chalazion is gradually shrinking (took a few days to notice a difference) and the lash follicles near the chalazion that had been filling with oil are draining as well.
In addition to the vinegar it's probably important to not overdo it with the heat. Too much heat also likely causes some inflammation and swelling which will just keep the silly thing from draining or make it worse. I would suggest at least try going down to warm compress 2-3 times a day, 10 minutes at a time, and use the vinegar.
It is absolutely working for me!!
Apple Cider Vinegar

All those warm compresses, tea bags and massage did nothing for my chalazion. But Apple Cider vinegar made a HUGE difference in 2 days. It's now day 4 after ACV directly on a qtip about 4 times a day and it's almost gone. Thank goodness for this site - I was considering surgery since this little bugger wouldn't respond to anything else, and hearing people's terrible experiences made me try this as a last resort. TOTALLY WORKS! Use organic acv with the mother, I just put a few drops with an eyedropper and hold/wipe for a minute or two and then done!
Apple Cider Vinegar

Hi,
I had a chalazion and I had surgery for it. After few months I got another chalazion in the same eye, but I do not want to go for any surgery now. I read about ACV and I started fermenting my eye with it and also drank it once a day. The chalazion has minimized a lot but when I stop using ACV fermentation it pops up again. What should I do to remove it permanently but not surgecally.
(London)
04/14/2018
Hi
Thank you for your post. I was just wondering how you are getting on. I had a chalazion the size of a pea last September. It kept growing, so I opted for surgery. It's been nearly six months and my eyelids still a bit swollen. How did it take your eyelid heal after the first surgery? Did it ever go back to normal?
Sorry to disturb you. Look forward to hearing from you.
Regards, Simone
Apple Cider Vinegar

I initially tried the Castor Oil treatment for my chalazion and it seemed to be working, however it was very slow. So, I switched over to the apple cidar vinegar and the results were amazing! My eye lid went from swollen like a black eye to a what looked like a pimple on my eye lid. To barely noticeable dark lid in 3 days. I took a q tip swab dipped into the Apple Cidar Vinegar and dadded my right eye lid lightly making sure not to get it in my eye and on top of the swollen bump, 3 times a day. I did not drink any of the vinegar, so I know it works with just direct application. I love Apple Cider Vinegar.
(New Zealand)
02/18/2017
To Jasmine,
Now might be a good time to do a follow-up with a heated (but cooled down of course) good quality, Chamomile Tea bag on the affected eye. This nifty trick has given good results to eye problem sufferers in the past. Read more about assistance under the "Eyes" section on this Site.
Good luck with your progress. Eyes are precious!
Michael
(Toronto)
03/29/2017
(Toronto)
12/10/2017
Apple Cider Vinegar

December 2016 I woke to find a sudden pain like my eye was swollen and later that day I went to my optometrist. At that time I was told I had a stye and got drops and told to use hot compresses. Four days later it was a fun blown stye/chalazion!! I was given a steroid shot and a eye patch that is a compress by an ophthalmologist in Florida on vacation. Fast forward a week or two and my dermatologist took a biopsy! That's right! It was drained a bit on my top right lid. Then I had medication and compresses again. It looked BAD. I then on the same day decided an oclioplasric surgeon would be best. I got in on a whim and had 3 injections inside the top lid!!!! Them told to do compresses. 2 months later and and other visit. One more injections was put in and other day I was told in the middle of February if it was not gone prepare for surgery!!!!! I watched videos and knew the surgery might be pretty invasive since I would be put to sleep....
Well Jan 31st I read up and found this site. THANK you everyone before me for your post. I followed suit and bought apple cider vinegar with the "mother". I put it on with a cotton ball for five minutes and had a tablespoon in 8 0z of water. In before bed I did another cotton swab of apple cider vinegar for 5 minutes and then I warm eyepatch.
AMAZING RESULTS in the FIRST few hours. I woke up in the middle of the night and looked in the mirror. I could not believe my I almost look like my other eye. It is been about 2 months and I've been suffering with this inflamed redness with a chalazion bump in the middle. I'm going to keep this up for as long as possible and pray that this means it will be completely gone very soon period 4 on the outside it already looks amazing. Thank you again everyone for your post and I'm so grateful I found this site. But most of all I am grateful that I tried the natural approach using apple cider vinegar. ONLY A FEW HOURS AND SO FAR SO AMAZING!!
I tried to post before and afters. You're only allowed me to pull up one. I have no problem sharing if anyone needs to see my pictures. It looks almost a hundred percent better this morning!
(Gympie)
01/29/2018
Apple Cider Vinegar

I have had success with ACV and warm compresses for chalazion. (I began using castor oil but had no success.) At first I diluted the ACV with water because some on this site said that the ACV would burn, but I had no success until I used the ACV full strength. I would apply the ACV with a cotton swab/Q-tip, being careful to not let it drip into my eye. I would apply it several times a day, always with a clean cotton swab. I also used warm compresses five or six times, each morning. Eventually, I stopped using the ACV and applied warm compresses occasionally. I began using full strength ACV about four to five weeks ago. The chalazion is almost gone.
I was also drinking ACV in a glass of water each day, so I do not know if that may have been a factor as well.
(New Jersey)
04/26/2017
Hey I just wanted to know your progress. I started using ACV on my chalazion for a good week or two and although initially I saw some improvement, I haven't seen much after that and it feels like the swelling in the morning has grown. This makes me not want to continue with it. Did you have a similar experience? I see that you took it for a few weeks, did you see a steady improvement?
The improvement was gradual and steady, but I was using warm compresses (hot tap water on a washcloth) as well as the ACV described above. My chalazion has been gone for some time now. If I touch the outside area of my eyelid, sometimes I think I can feel a very, very tiny bump, the size of a pinhead perhaps, but it has never swelled again. I would not hesitate to use the ACV full strength and warm compresses again. I would like to add, that it is my chalazion was caused by using old mascara, the kind in a tube with a brush. I knew better than to use old mascara as bacteria will build up in it.
(New Jersey)
04/28/2017
My chalazion was about a week old when I knew my eye was a problem on November 7,2016. I remember because I visited a friend that day and it was embarrassing. It was under my left top eyelid near the corner like Rebecca's above photo. I had swelling and redness, but never any pain. I came to this site for information and tried castor oil for about a week with no success. It was about another week after trying the ACV that I went full strength ACV, so by early December I saw improvement and then posted my success on December 22 or 23. Don't forget the hot compresses. I believe they were equally important. I did hot tap water on a wash cloth five or six times every morning. My results were not as quick as Rebecca's, but there was gradual improvement. I would give yourself a month of ACV and compresses. If it's not showing improvement, I would increase the number of times you apply the ACV during the day. I have no way of knowing, but I think that the ACV killed the bacteria? (So many people who posted on here about chalazions have had surgery and antibiotics with no results. I'm afraid of doctors anyway.)
(Westchester, Ny)
02/13/2018

I have had a small chalazion on my upper right eyelid for almost 4 months. It formed after a stye I had there did not drain properly. I recently made an appointment to have it surgically removed. While searching the Internet for more info on the surgical procedure I will be undergoing, I came across your website and thought I'd give some of these natural remedies a try while waiting for surgery . Last night and this morning I dabbed/massaged a qtip saturated with " straight" Apple Cider Vinegar with " the mother" --not diluted with water. Then with a fresh q tip I massaged some coconut oil on the site to soothe it and further address the inflammation of the chalazion. I left the coconut oil on for about 15 minutes then wiped off with a warm to hot damp wash cloth. Then I used a hot compress for about 5 minutes on the area pressing down where the chalazion is. I truly cannot believe it! The chalazion has shrunk dramatically!! I can barely see or feel it. This is just after two treatments. I am going to continue doing this three times a day. I'm hoping to cancel surgery if this great result continues. Thank you so much for your website!
(Goodlands)
08/30/2020
(New York)
09/01/2020
ACV will stop the itch a bit. Chalazions often come with a demodex mite problem.
Look for posts under demodex eye mites.
Use a heat pack, it will break up the hardened area. Use this multiple times a day. It does work, ask me how I know :)
To treat the mites which cause the inflammation, you will need to use diluted tea tree oil and lavender at eyelash base for about 6 weeks.
You need to change your bed linens, especially your pillow, several times a week. Wash in borax and dry high heat to kill mites.
You do not want to use any oils for dilution of teatree oil and lavender except for MCT or fracionated coconut oil. Eye mites feast on face oils and applied oils! You must keep your face very clean - use only aloe as moisturizer!
Apple Cider Vinegar

I wanted to post to give a thumbs up for apple cider vinegar with the "mother" to treat chalazia. My first chalazion was on my right upper lid and was there for the better part of a year. I halfheartedly tried a variety of home remedies to get rid of it when it first cropped up, but since it wasn't all that visible and I work from home so have no need to get dolled up very often, I ultimately gave up and just left it alone. One morning it was just not there anymore, which I was very happy about.
A few months later, however, another chalazion appeared, this time on the lower lid of my left eye. This one was quite visible, and not in a good way. I tried the warm compresses, etc., but nothing was happening, so I made an appt with an ophthalmologist to get confirmation it was a chalazion and to see what he suggested. He suggested warm compresses using a hard-boiled egg wrapped in a damp facecloth. The egg sort of fits nicely into the eye socket and maybe touches more of the eye or something. I made a follow-up appt for 2 wks later, and went home to start the egg compresses. Meanwhile, the doc was going to get an authorization from my insurance to lance the thing if I had no luck with the egg.
So I did the egg compress quite diligently 3-6 times a day - so diligently that I created a little burn on my face below the chalazion. Sigh. I wasn't seeing much progress, so as my follow-up appt got closer and I knew I'd be getting the thing lanced, I decided as a last resort to try apple cider vinegar on the inside of my eyelid, knowing it would burn (I've gotten ACV in my eye before by mistake), but figuring it wouldn't be any worse than a needle.
So for a few days, before I did the egg compress, I poured a tiny bit of ACV in the bottle cap and dipped a Q-tip in it, then pulled my lower lid away from my eyeball, and dabbed the Q-tip with the ACV on the inside of the lid, then waited for the burning to subside. Then I did it again if I felt brave. I also swiped the Q-tip over the bump as well. Then I'd do the warm egg compress for several minutes, and roll the egg over the chalazion in sort of a massaging motion.
A couple days of that routine, and my left eye started producing yellow gunk, which I assumed was the oil finally being released from the chalazion, and the bump started to shrink. It's not all the way gone yet, but I feel good enough about the progress I'm making that I'm going to cancel my follow-up appt and continue the ACV and egg compresses until the chalazion is completely flat.
I'm hoping the skin over the chalazion will return to it's normal color and texture at some point, because right now it's rather discolored and puffy. (And not in a good way! )
(West Warwick, Rhode Island)
04/24/2018
(Durham, NC)
05/15/2018
Apple Cider Vinegar

Hi!
I usually don't post things on the internet, however this site saved me from my quite big chalazion on my upper eyelid. I had it for about two months and my husband insisted I get it operated, I made my doctors appointment, and because it was three weeks away I wanted to try some home remedies to avoid the operation. I started with warm compresses, then read posts on this site and included ACV...little in a cup with warm water and on the eyelid with a cotton-ball and made sure just a little got in my eye, but very little, cause it hurts! First nothing, my skin on the eyelid just got burned, and got swollen pretty bed...so I said this doesn't work and stopped the compressing and just put in a few drops of physiological solution every few hours. Two days later I was sleeping and as I woke up, I could hardly open my eye. I rushed into the bathroom and see that my chalazion was finally unblocked...so I continued compressing, ACV and phys. solution...it has not been a full week and it is almost gone completely, and it was really big. So I gladly cancelled my doctors appointment. So I don't know exactly what really made my chalazion disappear, maybe a combination of the three "remedies", but it got better really fast when I started with ACV, and I was not really constant with it, maybe one or two times a day for about ten minutes, I also put some ACV directly on the chalazion with a q-tip.
Don't over do it, because it will burn your skin.
So this is my story and I hope it will help somebody else, but just a warning, when you attack your chalazion stay home, because when it prepares to open up, you look like somebody punched you in the eye...at least me, my eyelid was really swollen and red...so it was a good thing I didn't plan any outings ;)
Good luck!
(Houston)
10/17/2016
(Fresno)
02/22/2018
Apple Cider Vinegar

My story.
My eye was bothering me back in January and I did not know why. I never pulled my eyelid back to have a look until maybe 3-4 weeks in. That is when I saw it. It was about the size of a lentil at the time and I figured it would just go away on its own. It did not go away. So I started applying warm compresses once in a while but was lazy and did not do it often. Two weeks ago a few days before a trip to the UK it got bigger to about the size of pea and I started to worry. I looked around on the internet and found out what it was called and what caused it. Sadly, I also stumbled upon a youtube video of Chalazion surgery that freaked me out. I started using the warm compresses religiously with no effect.
While in the UK I did more research and happened upon this excellent site. Sadly, I could not find ACV with mother in the small town I was in and so I just used the filtered stuff. I honestly don't think it had much of an effect. I returned back to the states last Sunday and went straight to the health food store to buy ACV with the "mother". I also saw other remedies and my plan was to attack this little bugger from multiple angles
This was my strategy:
I drank 1 TBSP ACV diluted in 6-8 oz water each morning and evening
I heated a 1-1 ratio of ACV in the microwave (45-60 s) or used a hot kettle to mix with AVC. I also either used the hot kettle to heat a rag or wet a rag placed in coffee mug and also heated that in microwave. Just get them hot.
I dipped a cotton round in the mixture, gently closed my eye and rubbed across it 3 or 4 times to “clean it”. Then I dunked another one, placed over my eye and use the rag as a warm compress on top of it. I did this 3-4 times a day with the last one around 8p. I also used a clean cotton round to do the other eye just in case.
Before bed time I open an activated charcoal capsule and mixed with warm water to make a paste. I used a Q-tip to place the mixture on the Chalazion on the OUTSIDE of my eye and left it there for 30 minutes or so. I washed this off with baby shampoo. Hard to get off so be careful not to get in your eye. Then I applied castor oil to the Chalazion on the OUTSIDE of eye using a Q-tip. I put it on fairly thick and left it there to dry out overnight. Lady at drugstore must have thought I had some issues as charcoal and castor oil are often used for gastro problems. Next morning start again.
After just a day or so the swelling on the outside started to go down but I did not notice any change in size of the Chalazion itself
Thursday (only 4 days later) while in the airport working on my laptop my vision in that eye started to get blurry. Went to the mirror in he bathroom and saw white gunk in my eye and could see the Chalazion had a small head on it that was leaking. Gross, yes. But a relief that the method was working. I tried squeezing it softly but did not want to do it too much so I left it alone and throughout the flight I would dab eye occasionally with a clean cotton round (new one each time). Little by little more gunk was coming out.
The Chalazion is not gone yet but it is more than half the size it was and looks flatter than before. I am not giving up on the process as I want to make sure this completely goes away.
My takeaways that I hope helps other in the same boat I was in.
Be persistent and don't miss treatments.
Use as hot a compress and ACV mixture as you can stand. You don't want to burn your skin.
Try multiple remedies.
I was not a fan of putting ACV directly on the Chalazion with a Q-tip but when I wiped my eye or used the compress some ultimately made it in.
I think the ACV with mother is really necessary as I used the filtered version for 5 or 6 days with no effect.
Good luck
(Fl)
09/07/2016
Apple Cider Vinegar
This post is long overdue, but I wanted to write it in case someone out there gets into the same situation as I did.
Back in June I woke up to find a swollen upper eyelid. I've had styes in the past, so I knew immediately to start warm compressing. After a few days though, I noticed it wasn't going down at all and was actually feeling "harder". I went to the doctor as I had to go anyway for work. She told me of course to continue warm compressing and that it was just a sty. However, come the beginning of AUGUST and it was still wasn't gone. I went to my ophthalmologist, and they told me that two months was definitely too long. This wasn't a sty, it was a chalazion.
One way to tell the difference is that chalazion generally aren't sensitive to touch like a sty. Another way is that stys often have what looks like a white head, chalazions are red lumps. Chalazions are clogged glands while stys are infections of the glands. Anyway, I was heading back to college in a few weeks so I wanted this taken care of immediately. My options were to see if it would go away on its own, or surgery as topical ointments do not work for chalazions. I decided to get surgery. The surgery wasn't a big deal. It was very quick. However my eye was swollen and bruised for about a week..... And my chalazion was still there. Yes it was a little smaller, but it was still there and I was not happy. When I got my checkup the doctor told me to give it more time.
I went back to college and did my research and on this site is where I found that apple cider vinegar can help. So naturally, I bought some ACV with the mother (Definitely get with the mother). Twice a day I would apply some on a cotton ball and dab my chalazion. At night I would even hold it against my chalazion for five minutes. It didn't burn too much and by a few days later, I noticed my eyelid would have white and yellow crust when waking up... Which meant it was draining! It was noticeably smaller as well!
Anyway, in September I had to go back to the ophthalmologist for my second check up. At this point, I had a large hard white dot on my chalazion which meant it had formed a head. It was only a few days later when the white head finally fell off! I barely had a lump anymore but I continued with the ACV to make sure it was completely gone. My eyelid finally became flat and it still is! Overall, ACV with the mother was my savior to getting rid of this chalazion.
For anyone who gets chalazions or stys, I suggest purchasing regular old eye drops and using them regularly as a preventative. They will balance your eyes PH and keep glands clean and flowing.
Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar works!! My five year old son has been dealing with a chalazion for over a year with no help from compresses or medicine. We started applying a sterile gauze pad dunked into a 1/2 Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) and 1/2 hot water mix twice a day and changes were instant! It has been about three weeks now and every day it gets a little flatter and less swollen. Thank you to everyone who posted their success stories. Our little guy has finally gotten some relief! :)
(New Jersey)
12/03/2016
Hi Jessica! I just purchased some ACV with mother. How many minutes did you hold the pad against it? Only to the outside or did you allow some ACV to go into the eye?
It took 3 weeks for you to start seeing it was working?
How many weeks for it to disappear completely? Have any returned and if do, did you repeat this and what were the results?
Thank you for your help.
Bob
(Kuala Lumpur)
12/23/2016
Hi, my daughter is turning 5 next month and has been having a chalazion on her left upper eyelid. It's been about 3 months now. First, it was the size of a pimple and her paediatrician said to just leave it. Then after 2 months it looked swollen so we took her to a paediatric opthomologist who recommended surgery. Took her to 3 other opthomologist who said you just leave it and they gave us antibiotic drops. It's grown since then! I'm doing hot compress, washing her eyelid with baby shampoo and just started using Epsom salt in warm water. It looks like it's about to pop. Will try ACV tomorrow. I really don't want to put her through surgery!
(Ny)
02/05/2017
(Providence, Ri)
02/05/2017
Apple Cider Vinegar

I have struggled with Styes and Chalazions on and off for about 9 years. Since the first one, they've occurred about a dozen times. Not bad, you might think, but half of them lasted longer than a month, and 2 of them lasted nearly a year. The last big one I needed surgery to get rid of it, and even after that was done... it still took months for it to finally go away.
So, you know my history. And during those trials, I tried a LOT. Epsom salt. Warm compresses. Hot compresses. Antibiotics. Colloidal silver. Bentonite clay. Cleanses. Homeopathics. Crazy tinctures. Oh, man, you name it, I tried it. I got so frustrated with the ol' "Quasimodo Eye" that I once tried to "pop" the Chalazion. WARNING: DO NOT EVER DO THIS! Take it from an idiot who got impatient and did that. There is nothing to drain. Chalazions don't work like that. I did that, and it went from awful to out-of-this-world bad. Like, a cross between a horror film and a comedy because it was so unbelievable. (That's when the doctor ordered the surgery.)
So. Here I am. It's been about 3.5 years since that awful occurrence and I live in fear of it happening again. I am careful and wash my eyelids like I'm OCD. And that helps. But, they STILL happen.
Yada yada yada. So 3 weeks ago, I woke up to the familiar horror of a sty. Not the worst I've seen, but oh sweet clowns of destiny, I felt a wave of panic knowing how these things can make a sudden turn for the worst.
Desperate, I spent hours online looking for more possible cures. I found the Apple Cider Vinegar cure here at Earth Clinic. And I didn't have anything to loose, so I tried it.
And this WORKED. Here's what I'd do:
1. It was always worst in the morning. So I'd take a hot shower, and run that hot water over my eye until the hot water tank ran out. Other times in the day, I'd do a hot compress. Always with hot water, as the moisture seems to help in a way that a dry compress doesn't.
2. Next, I'd soak a cotton make-up pad thingy... they're like a cotton ball that has been run over by a steamroller... I'd dab or soak it in ACV. Then I'd close my "Quasimodo Eye" (Lefty) and just land that right on top of my eyelid, holding the thing in place for about 2-5 minutes.
3. I'd repeat those basic steps about 3-6 times a day. Before each application of the ACV, I'd wash my eyelids with just a little bit of soap. But I wouldn't wash them after the ACV application.
Every time I'd do this treatment, within about an hour or two the swelling went down to almost nothing. It came and went like this for a few days. After the third day, my eye suddenly started... well... it's like a lot of mucus started to come out of my eye. Like, crazy amounts. After that, the swelling was almost un-noticeable. And I kept doing the treatments for another 4 or 5 days.
(After a few days, the ACV seemed to burn a bit more... but no harm seemed to come from this.) It was probably 8 or 9 days when I just stopped using the ACV. 2 weeks later, there is the tiniest remnant of it, but only I can tell, and I will probably start a second round of treatments to vanquish whatever remains. But lemme just say that nothing I have tried thus far has gotten me results ANYTHING CLOSE to what ACV has done.
I know how awful these buggers can be, and I truly hope you are reading this post at some point in the future where a permanent, lasting cure has finally eliminated chalazions and styes from humanity's troubled past. BUT, if that ain't the case, and you gots one... fer the love of all that is good and tasty, try this!
(Southern California)
08/13/2015

Thank you for sharing treatment with ACV! I've been struggling with a huge chalazion in my lower eyelid for over 9 months ~ it was massive about the size of a quarter and hurt 24/7, like a roller-coaster up and down in size, then reduced down to the size of a dime and has stayed that way for the last 2 months ~ still an uncomfortable lump against my eye.
In addition to hot compresses I have made my own eye drops using distilled water diluting a few pinches of Himalyan Salt to create the perfect eye drops atleast 10 x per day. I don't want my left eye to feel neglected so I do it in both eyes to be fair and balanced ... I'm weird that way ... and the past week have also added a few drops of pharmaceutical grade DMSO to the eye drop solution AND a few drops of ACV! WOW! The results have been amazing! It burns a little at first, however, there is no damage whatsoever to the eye. Gunky stuff coming out and when I first wake up even more so. Drops go right in to cleanse that stuff out. I actually look forward to using them now ...yep, weird again ... :) It is something else to see how our bodies can heal. It is down to about the size of a small pea and will soon be down to a piece of rice. I am thinking I will continue to make this a ritual for maintenance and perhaps start drinking some as well. I know ... weird again ... but hey, who knows?
Thx again! I never knew about the many healing aspects of using ACV ~ pure liquid gold baby!
(Ireland)
08/22/2015
Thanks for this valuable info...I'm a big believer in natural remedies but I was at a loss with this one as this is my first....chazie thing. I thought it was a stye at first, but soon realized it wasn't. I've only had it for 3 days but am travelling home to Canada for three weeks in a weeks time and don't want to see friends and family that I haven't seen in so long with my 'Quasimodo' eye. Will try ACV first thing. Thanks for sharing.
(London)
09/14/2015
Der Doug,
Brilliant info and very funny too. Thank you, I am another fool who tried to pop one last year- surgery ensued, scary, but I was very impressed with the surgeon. Over very fast and healed swiftly although it has taken over a year for the lump on my outer eye to go down. I see another one forming, I'm gunna try ACV>
(Singapore)
09/10/2016
(Tennessee)
09/10/2016
Dear Nisa,
Apple cider vinegar would be too strong straight into the eye. But very diluted, you can use it topically on your eye.
Use 1 teaspoon of raw and organic apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of pure water. Soak a cotton ball with the solution and wipe across your eye a few times a day. A bit of the apple cider vinegar/water solution will end up in your eye. Even a little bit can heal.
~Mama to Many~