Apple Cider Vinegar, Hot Compress for Chalazion

5 star (2) 
  67%
3 star (1) 
  33%

Marc (Pa) on 01/10/2018:
5 out of 5 stars

40 Yr old male, had styes and chalazion off an on for 11 months. Lower eyelid.

Had chalazion lanced by an eye doc - it was a horrible experience and very painful despite the local anesthesia, plus it came back. Tried antibiotics including doxycycline and tobradex ointment for a month. Visited doctor 4 times, spent around $800 on this annoying condition. It would seemingly go away and keep coming back. I also was not religious about my treatment depending on the size of the lump. It kept getting worse and became huge (size of a gumball) and very red. Had a head like a pimple on inside of eyelid. The lump was very firm and seemed to not want to open up. Considered surgery. I was miserable and didn't want to go out if I didn't have to. The 2nd doc I visited said it was solid like butter and heat would make it liquid to drain out. He steered me away from a lancing and surgery.

Also tried dry warm compresses with a gel mask, hundreds of times. I tried tea bags with parsley, vitamin A, castor oil, colloidal silver, straight ACV, coconut oil, etc. Here's what finally worked for mine:

Was washing eyelids with baby shampoo 2 times a day or before any treatment, using colloidal silver (Sovereign Silver) drops, 2-3 drops directly into eye 2-3x per day for 4 days. Took multi vitamins. Drank ACV everyday (maybe a teaspoon). Used castor oil on lump topically. Was researching and found this site.

Went back to ACV, but this time warmed up some water, mixed in 1/2 ACV. Put a cotton ball into the ACV and soaked eyelid for 5-10 minutes.

Did some get inside eyelid? - Yes. Could feel the ACV working. Boiled water. Dip clean washcloth into the hot water and did a hot compress with this by getting it close to the lump but not touching until it was just hot enough to touch to eyelid. It was HOT. Re-heated the cloth when it cooled. Massaged on eye for 5-10 minutes and it finally opened up the chalazion from the inside of my eyelid. Kept massaging/milking the drainage out until I could not see any more coming out. A lot of yellow-ish oil/discharge came out. Kept using heat to try to keep the contents liquid. Flushed eye with warm water. Put in a few drops of the colloidal silver. Lump is not gone and is still somewhat red but looks way better and reduced the following day.

Mine may have been a combination of remedies, but I think the ACV followed by HOT WET compress did the trick. Will continue the 1/2 ACV with warm water soak, then hot compresses. Using coconut oil to help the skin on eyelid heal. That was a terrific feeling after this many months of enduring this embarrassing lump. So to those of you who are about to give up, use ACV soaks and go hotter with the compress! Moist heat seemed better then dry heat. It should open on its own without help of a doctor (they don't make money by recommending ACV). Thanks to all who posted their remedies on here, you helped me out.

REPLY   7      

Cynthia G. (Michigan) on 08/09/2015:
5 out of 5 stars

I was treated for Graves Eye Disease from 2006-2011 and had 21 eye surgeries through this ordeal.

I had 7 decompressions, muscle surgeries, eyelid stuff, retinal procedures and was warned that there was a good chance someday that the sebacious glands would plug up and I would have chalazians. I was treated throughout my eye disease at the VERY BEST EYE HOSPITAL, KELLOGG EYE CENTER, on Planet Earth. 4 years later I got my first chalazian and local doctors thought it was due mostly to all the build-up from scar tissue. So I tried heat compresses for months and one surgeon removed it by cutting through top of eye lid because my lids have been through too much and are brittle and cannot be flipped.

Then 4 stitches and cauterization later, I think all is well. Within 3 weeks I have 4-5 new bumps forming. So I go back and see another doctor and he suggests 4 shots to the eye that will infiltrate the bumps and tells me they will be forever banished in 30 days and NONE will return. I won't even BEGIN to try and explain how crazy painful this procedure was and now I know why FEW attempt this one but I was truly desperate. And I made a SERIOUS LAPSE IN JUDGMENT by not returning to the Kellogg Eye Center and Dr. Victor Elner.

Needless to say, 3 weeks after this last procedure, 3 more cysts appeared and rapidly enlarged. The doxycycline I had been on was doing nothing for me but giving me a constant and consistent yeast infection. I couldn't win. In fact, I felt like I was totally losing ground. So I got on the net and found Earth Clinic and in 12 hours my eye life began to change.

I read about the white tea bag compresses and the ACV applications to the affected eyelid and whammo....when I woke up in the morning my bumps were reduced in size noticeably and apoeared to be coming to a head. Now within 2 days we were able to express the bumps and I have not stopped with the vinegar as I believe it will keep the sebacious glands from hooefully clogging.

I also took someone's advice on Earth Clinic to use baby tearless shampoo to wash eyes. Great idea and I use nothing else.

And I top my regimen off with frankincense or purified castor oil to keep my lids smooth and soft. It has been only 2 full weeks and my affected eye looks so normal it is unreal. Everyday it looks healthier.

The last procedure, the one with the 4 shots to the lid, was traumatizing, and the combination I guess is what has caused me to lose roughly 25 or so eyelashes from the outside upper lid corner. Ugh! I am now hoping time and essential oils will encourage new growth. It has been approximately 3 months.

And I also drink 2-3 ounces of ACV a day and have done this for years. But it was the q-tip and ACV applied directly to the lid that started my turn-a-round. I must comment on how EASY hot compresses are with tea bags. They hold the heat better than anything plus to warm up you just drop back into your hot cup of tea. Chamomile tea works well, too. Have to wonder if the properties of tea are also miracle workers :-) I did both initially.

Any tips on lash growth? One thing at a time.......thank you! Cynthia

REPLY   6      

Joanna72 (Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) on 06/13/2015:
3 out of 5 stars

Better But With Side Effects

Hi, I am going through my first and hopefully last chalazion. It all started about 5 weeks ago when my left eyelid started to swell up. I didn't know what was causing it at first and because it wasn't painful I just ignored it thinking it was just an infection and that it would resolve by itself. About a week later though a small bump started to develop in the middle of my eyelid right on the lash line, which scared me at first as I had never seen something like it before and seeing a small lump on my eyelid made me think the worst to begin with. I then researched my symptoms online and what came back was a chalazion. What I had seemed to fit what I had read and seen on the web. I went to see my doctor and he thought it was a stye and prescribed me flucloxacillin for a week. It wasn't long after starting the antibiotics that I woke up one morning and had yellow crustiness on my upper and lower lashes along with white gunk in my eyes and lashes, not nice!

I started early on with just using hot compresses and massaging. After reading up on home remedies I then began using ACV as well as washing my eye out with saltwater. The pea sized lump I had on my lash line two weeks ago has now almost gone but my eyelid is still badly swollen and puffy looking. I have also damaged the top of my eyelid as I overdone it with the massaging and some skin has come off. Is it best for me to stop because of this? It's just I'm worried that the lump will get bigger again if I don't continue with the warm compresses.

Also, do you wash ACV off your eye immediately after applying it or do you just leave it on? No one's explained that yet.

REPLY         
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