Effective Natural Remedies for Chalazion

My husband had a decade old chalazion on his upper eyelid that had hardened without redness despite trying everything natural under the sun when it first appeared and at intervals subsequently. At one point of sustained natural remedies, the lump appeared to develop a slight split as if divided into two adjacent smaller lumps. Another time along the way, I applied raw local honey along his lashline and felt guilty as he developed a small chalazion on his lower lid just below the upper lump. It wasn't a stye as it never went away. Finally, last year, he was fed up and ready to seek surgery but came across an article in www.eyeworld.org connecting Dermodex mites (present in all people) to chalazions so we decided to give one last-ditch treatment.

I mixed castor oil (the old-fashioned type in a glass bottle from the Indian store that has been used safely in eyes for centuries that I happened to have) with pure teatree oil in a dropper bottle and after his morning shower, I applied 2 drops to his clean knuckles which he held together for me and he then touched his knuckles together to disperse before swiping one knuckle across each respective lashline of both his closed eyes to avoid cross contamination as the chalazion was only on his left eye. He also used his knuckles to massage the mixture into his lashlines.

At night before bed, he used Opti-Soothe mask (from pharmacy) for two consecutive 20mins after heating 20secs in the microwave following by the same oil-on-knuckle treatment. As stated in the article, after 12 weeks the chalazion disappeared and has not returned after four months.

Wish we had known this remedy before as over the decade, we wasted time and money on doctors every time it became embarrassingly conspicuous after other natural treatments just to be prescribed eyedrops that made no difference and referral to opthalmologist who recommended best to leave it alone as it may recur after surgery which is apparently very painful.

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!

Hi all, after reading so many stories with positive results of having used the apple cider vinegar, I decided to give it a try myself. Perhaps I'm exaggerating with the quantity of ACV I put on the cotton ball, but I notice the skin of my eyelid having a darker color, almost as if it's being "burned" or irritated by the vinegar. Was this normal for some of you as well? Also, would you recommend putting the ACV directly on the chalazion (i.e. on the underside of the eyelid where the chalazion actually is)? Thanks for any help you can offer, I love this forum!

Castor oil really works for a chalazion. It's better than any treatment. Just keep applying it topically on the bump everyday. It can take from 2 weeks to 6 months depending on your immunity. But it will surely go. Take 2 day breaks when using for more than 2 months. You can help your immunity by staying off wheat sugar and junk or fried food. Castor oil really really works. Please help spread the word to the people here because I dont have much time.

I tried literally every remedy out there. I had three eye surgeries and they kept coming. Had to dig for the cause since I follow a very careful regimen of eye care, hygiene and the rest of it. Finally I was advised it's hormonal change of the body and there's no solution. I started trying natural remedies one by one to avoid the risk and the cost of further surgeries on the go. Nothing worked and just one day before I my surgery was scheduled I thought the only thing I didn't try is castor oil. I never thought it'd work but then I thought it'd do no harm to try and it worked like a charm! . After cleaning eyes I applied a very small amount topically on the chalazion, three times on that day and by next day the cyst appeared from the outside of the lid and started drying out and peeling off like a pimple. It has always been there right in front of my eyes. Not the baby shampoo, warm compresses, eye washes, drops, antibiotics, eggs, coconut oil, breast milk, apple cider vinegar, frankincense oil, tea/rice bags, nothing worked despite the trouble I went through to get them. Castor oil is a miracle remedy! . In one week of three topical applications (one before bedtime), my eyes looked and felt perfect. Thank God! , and thanks to the guy from Lebanon. It was your tip I followed.

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! :)

Castor oil has healed the chalazion on my eyelid. Cheap big box store brand of castor oil. Nothing special. Labled for internal use. Thank you Earthclinic!

Had one of these nasty things (chalazion) appear on the inside of my lower left eyelid. I am a Earth Clinic regular so this was the first place I came after the baby shampoo had zero effect.

Castor Oil. started applying and also purchased a dry eye compress off of Amazon. Benefit was immediate. Size reduced drastically after the first heat treatment. Keep applying castor oil directly to the bump on the inside of the eyelid and use heat regularly. After 2 days, bump is almost gone.

Castor Oil directly to the Chalazion with lots of heat.

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!

Before I went to bed, I put coconut oil(virgin, cold pressed, found in most grocery stores) on a piece of gauze bandage, then used medical tape to secure it to my eye. I also taped a cotton ball over the gauze bandage, so it would push the bandage into my eye socket so the coconut oil was kept against my eye. In the morning I could see drainage on the gauze. I repeated this for 2 nights and my chalazion was gone.

I have had chalazions many times. They usually take weeks or months to heal. I have had one surgically removed.

I will never do hot compresses again, the coconut oil is the answer.

I hope this helps many people avoid the embarrassment of chalazions.

Thanks for sharing. I'm going to try this method in with my other method I'm using. I've had a chalazion on my eyelid for 5 years now that has hardened without redness. The chalazion has gotten smaller over the last 5 years but it's still there. I recently just started back consistently doing hot compress at least 5 times a day with a heated eye mask from Amazon and massages to it and mines also has started to split off into very tiny lumps that seem to be dissolving (the original lump is still there but it looks a little smaller). I'll update this in a couple of months if it worked since I know that Chalazions are very stubborn and I've had mines for 5 years so it will take some time to go away completely.

Castor oil is typically applied over the chalazion. If the oil is pure it should not feel painfull if it gets into the eye. I have used it on a chalazion that was several years old and the chalazion shrunk quickly. The oil never bothered my eye.

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.

The Salt Water Rinse worked!

I had my chalazion for a couple of months and was trying different cures on and off (ex: ACV, castor oil, colloidal silver, etc) Nothing was as effective and fast as the saltwater rinse.

I did the saltwater rinse two to three times a day using an eyecup. Now my chalazion is hardly even noticeable and it's getting smaller every day. Thank God!

My recipe

1 teaspoon of sea salt dissolved in 1 cup of water. This recipe will last about a week.

I hope this helps anyone else with this problem. If not, everyone is different, so keep trying different natural remedies. Above all trust in God, He will guide you to the right cure.

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.

I developed a chalazion last summer and tried twice-a-day compresses with light massage, boric acid washes, and apple cider vinegar on the outside of the lid for a couple of months but none of those worked to diminish it. I finally gave up trying anything and didn't worry about it.

Now, eight months later, it is completely gone without me doing anything to it - I didn't even stop wearing makeup. It disappeared by itself and I didn't need to try and fix it. It would be good to know if this is true for others - that the lesions just disappear on their own for everyone - or if I just got lucky.

During pollen season I seem to get at least one huge chalazion. In years past even though I did the heat and black tea bags, they would just swell and swell and I'd end up taking antibiotics.

This year on day 1, I read on this site about ACV with the mother and did it 4 times a day plus once waking up in the middle of the night to apply it.

Each time I did heat for about 10 minutes (Bruder eye mask is great) followed by 4-5 minutes of a Q-tip dipped in ACV with the mother. The ACV seemed to really take the infection out. It's 3 days later and not gone but is improving well. I"m so relieved and thankful for the other writers who wrote so I'm adding in my experience. Hope it helps you too.

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!

I would try cold pressed hexane free castor oil. It seems like it would be safer than antibiotic and steroid drops. Coconut oil is also gentle and healing.

All I can say is, I wish I could give all chalazion/stye sufferers one big, tear-ridden hug. I've been suffering with eye problems since 2014; I'm in my twenties and I'm a mascara wearer, been one for years. However, I've come to realize my methods of make-up removal were not up to par. It all started in my right eye, the feeling of a piece of sand stuck underneath my top lid. I see the white-head, and assume it's a pimple, and I go full force when I see a white-head. DO NOT EVER DO THIS. EVER! I made it worse, google image search a picture of a stye and I was probably the worst picture that comes up. However the actual stye went away within a few days with just mere warm compresses.

This was just merely the intro. Evidently I did not drain the stye properly, because it appeared to harden to a small lump under my eye. I'm a pretty aloof person in general, and I'm not one to zone in on micro imperfections on my face as well as others, but one day I noticed that my right lid was a bit..lumpier? Than the left. I realize it's still probably some puss. Fast forward to researching about ACV and coconut oil, I go full force. All I did was burn my lid because I stupidly used pure apple cider vinegar instead of diluted. Okay, I back off and dilute the vinegar. Nothing. Maybe the swelling went down for me, but swelling wasn't my problem as it was a small rice sized lumb is stuck under my damn lid! Nothing would make it budge. It's 2017 and I still have this small lump, but it's barely noticeable.

Enter my left eye. I've been blissfully accustomed to my left eye being the golden child, problem free. I get a stye of February this year. A pretty bad one. At this point I'm not panicking because styes actually go away fairly quickly for me. I even do a bit of ACV treatment with my newfound knowledge of it. (ACV works miraculously for STYES, but in my case, not for chalazions). It's draining, I had to call a few days off work but it's draining. I delight when I see the collection of pure white gunk collect in the corner of my eye (fellow stye/chalazion sufferers, you'll definitely know how great this feels). My eye seems back to normal!!! Except...it's just like my right eye, there's another small lump!! And I'll be damned if it's symmetrical with my right!!

I get depressed over this now and then. I wouldn't call myself a vain person but having eye problems like this is just embarassing, although nobody has ever pointed out they noticed it, except my boyfriend who was unfortunately my right hand man during my terrible stye flame up which everyone could notice (I tactfully stayed indoors).

Okay onto the treatment, sorry I just wanted to share my story with you guys and know that I'm with you totally, I know how frustrating it is to have something that will never go away, and surgery will never be an option for me. But..here's the light at the end of the tunnel. On a whim I bought castor oil. Yeah I've read such things about it helping eye problems, but the good stories seemed few and far between. It seemed the frontrunner of chalazion cures was still ACV, but that just doesn't do anything for me other than smell bad and burn my lid, even diluted. (and yes, I alternate warm compresses and cool ACV every so often, sometimes doing this multiple times a day for a week straight, nothing). But castor oil. I've read many techniques, so I kind of make my own routine to see how that will work. And by god..I think I got something going here. My lump under my left eye seems more "localized", meaning I could definitely isolate it and move it around other than it just being a swollen mass.

Note: I do want to focus on my right eye, but that is just a small piece of rice compared to my left. I apply castor oil, soak a warm paper towel in some epsom salts (that also has been working and encouraging little crusties in my eyes when I wake up in the morning which I take as a good sign) and lay that right on top of the castor oil so it kind of sticks. From what I've learned, when you read "warm compress", it does not have to be piping hot or even "hot as you can stand". Take it from me guys, all it does is burn your eyelid and make it red and even more unsightly. Definitely warm but not to the point of pain, it should feel soothing. I alternate between this and cool treatments of chamomile tea bags for just a few minutes. When I wake up in the morning, it feels a bit smaller and smaller. I know this is going to take a while but thats how long it needs, and folks, they do eventually go away. Some people have had theirs for years when one day it just goes. It's just unfortunate for those of us who have to be in the public and are always a bit weary of our eyes. However, I will never get surgery. There's no guarantee it will be removed, and I've read stories of scarring and sometimes styes/chalazions coming back for vengeance. I'm sure surgery has worked for some and I applaud them, however, I believe homeopathy is the way to go and everyone is different so we all just need to keep experimenting.

For me, castor oil, epsom salts, and chamomile tea all together have been showing some differences. You could even do these treatments before you have to be somewhere. Just remember, do not burn your eyelid because you could make it worse and who knows, you may just be dealing with an inflamed lid instead of something underneath and you wouldn't know it because you're burning it.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to finally share my struggles. I can't wait for the day where they make a magic pill to cure these things. And yes I've tried staphysagria and it didn't do anything for me.