★★★★★
1. What Worked for Me: I used Indian clay mask, which I had on hand. While I would have preferred bentonite clay for its medicinal properties, the Indian clay did the trick. I mixed it with a bit of water to achieve a medium-thick paste. Each night, before bed, I applied this paste to my entire eyelid, though I think targeting just the bump would have sufficed. Sometimes, I even used it as a face mask!
In the morning, I gently removed the clay with a clean cotton pad soaked in comfortably warm water (instead of a warm compress, which had previously irritated my eye). After removing the clay, I used a tightly wound Q-tip—avoiding the fuzzy kind—to apply apple cider vinegar (ACV) directly to the bump. I poured a little ACV into a separate container for this purpose. I followed this routine for about a week, noticing improvement within three days and significant reduction in the bump by days five to six. Although I can no longer see the bump, I plan to continue for a day or two for good measure.
As a note, I'm a melanated (dark-skinned) African American woman, I say this because it is harder to notice discoloration on my skin due to my complexion and I did observe some slight discoloration on my eyelid from the ACV, so be mindful of potential discoloration and irritation especially if you are a lighter complexion.
2. My Logic: From my understanding, a chalazion is caused by trapped oils in the eyelid that fail to exit through the eyelashes. I found that many others reported success with ACV, which I imagined might dry out the oils causing the chalazion. While ACV alone was slightly irritating for me, combining it with the clay seemed effective.
3. My Experience with a Chalazion
I decided to try a clay mask over the bump on my eyelid. My logic was that clay is often used for acne because it can clear toxins and absorb excess oils. Since the skin is a large organ capable of both expelling and absorbing substances, I thought the clay might help with any trapped oils or bacteria. While I can't say for sure if my hypothesis was correct, I can say that the bump on my lid has vanished!
4. Backstory: One morning, I noticed a small bump on my upper right eyelid, about the size of a grain of rice. Thankfully, it was on my lid and not my eye, and there was no pain or irritation. After researching, I discovered it was likely a chalazion, as described in a YouTube video by a doctor. He suggested that if the bump was less than a week old, it might resolve on its own with warm compresses and gentle massaging. However, that didn't work for me.
I then sought out another video that explained the correct way to massage the eyelid—from the brow down toward the eyelashes. While this method made sense, it still didn't help. Feeling frustrated, I turned to Earth Clinic and saw many people had success with apple cider vinegar (ACV), but I didn't see much improvement with that either. It was at this point I decided to try the clay mask, as previously mentioned.
While I continued using ACV on a Q-tip for the bump, I eventually stopped for the last three days, as it seemed the clay was the primary factor in my improvement.
Summary of Thoughts:
1. The clay mask was the most effective treatment for me, more so than the ACV.
2. I believe bentonite clay might have been even more effective due to its known medicinal properties, but the Indian clay worked well enough.
3. Toward the end of the week, I mixed the vinegar with the clay mask and water, which seemed to enhance the results.
4. I also tried using witch hazel once instead of vinegar, but I switched back to ACV for consistency, so I can't draw any conclusions about that.
Conclusion: Navigating health issues can often feel isolating, but it's important to remember that you're not alone. Many people are facing similar challenges, and sharing our experiences can help others. I'm not a doctor, but I wanted to share what worked for me in hopes it may help someone else. If you've read this far, thank you for sticking with me!
Apple Cider Vinegar
★★★★★
Castor Oil
Thanks for boosting my optimism! I haven't seen an eye doctor yet and have been lackluster with my efforts, hoping it would go away on its own. My lower eyelid has a small chalazion but it makes the length of my eyelid appear swollen. I never experienced any draining that people have described. I remember feeling a hard nodule almost immediately and that has never gone away. I'm assuming it's fibrous tissue that scarred right as the chalazion formed. Do you think castor oil would work to break that hardened tissue down, or just to help drain the contents within a blocked chalazion?
Castor Oil
★★★★★
+1 on the Castor Oil! I tried it based on the recommendations here. I put one drop directly on the nasty little lump and it loosened and drained that night. (I must say that the draining was a little gross looking)
Warm Compresses, Massaging
Frankincense Oil
Castor Oil, Tea Tree Oil+
★★★★★
Do everything I mentioned twice a day every day and you will see results it may take a long time but my 5 year hard chalazion is completely gone. It took almost a year for it to go away completely it was hard and had been there for five years.
Chalazion takes a long time to go away, especially if you've had them for over a year and it's hardened. So be patient and continue.
Activated Charcoal
Allergy Drops
Also, be aware of that if you've already been using a prescription antibiotic eye ointment, there's a good chance you've developed an allergy to it and you need to stop using it and get an allergy-relief eye drop. (This was my husband's case.)
I also love the activated charcoal suggestion. I have inexpensive capsules that can be opened up and used with distilled water to form a poultice.
One last thing, regarding the suggestions for using various oils, I develop styes any time oils get near my eyes, including castor oil, flaxseed oil, etc., so oils may not be good for all of us.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Subside with heat ;Bruder mask with disposable liner) and the ACV with the mother. The reason I'm posting though is that the propensity to get the chalzion is way down since I started an antihistamine (Claritin or store brand) and Zaditor eye drops! It's amazing as from April
On I used to do heat 4 times a day and was constantly in the verge of a chalzion. Now I do heat occasionally and wear glasses and usually a hat when outside, we'll worth it! . I got the chalzion this year because yesterday I was outside without sunglasses and then didn't do hear in the evening even though my eye felt a little iffy.
Hope this is helpful to someone! The Claritin and zaditir were a game changer for me!
Apple Cider Vinegar
AC can be bought in capsule form usually at the local drug store. A binder is always needed with it. Bentonite Clay also can be bought in capsule form but might be easier to find online. When ever I use a poultice I try and change it every few hours.
Apple Cider Vinegar
I applied the TTO ointment to the complete eyelid (actually both eyelids) a couple of times a day (it does not need to be a thick coating- just enough to cover the area) and certainly when going to bed to let it work overnight. I found it might sting slightly as it acted on the infection but that only occurred on the first application and only lasted a few minutes at most and indicated to me that it was indeed attacking the infection. I continue to use the TTO ointment and TT antiseptic cream interchangeably for any eye, ear, nose, and other skin irritation with great results. In all these situations the problem issue is resolved within a day or two.
Hope this helps.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
I have found that a Tea Tree Antiseptic Cream or Tea Tree Oil Ointment works best for this problem. These both have a very low percentage of actual Tea Tree Oil, so they are both safe to use around the eyes. The problem is usually cleared up within 2 or 3 days with multiple daily applications of the treatment.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Tea Tree oil IN STEAM ONLY:
Heat up water on stove, when it begins to steam put a comfortable amount 5 ish drops of tea tree oil in the water, Put towel over your head, CLOSE YOUR EYES and lean into the steam so fumes permeate around eye. When smell dissipates, add a few more drops and repeat.
Mine was a sty I had for over a month and this cleared it in 2 days.
Apple Cider Vinegar
I tried ACV for 5 days- it just burnt my eyelid and created 2 huge red marks on my eyelid. Haven't noticed any drainage yet.
Any advice or at home remedies would be greatly appreciated!
★★★★★
I do a hot compress twice a day. One in the morning and one at night followed by putting a mixture of 1 cup water to 1 teaspoon of apple cider on my lash line with a qtip. I let that dry then I put some Similasan Stye Eye Relief Drops in my eye (you can buy on amazon or CVS/Walgreens/Walmart). I then let my eye dry from the eye drops and then proceed to put an half and half oil mixture of castor oil and tea tree oil on my lash line (don't get inside of your eye).
Do this every day twice a day and you will see results it may take a long time but my 5 year chalazion is almost gone. I've been doing this remedy for months now and it's slowly going away. Chalazions take a long time to go away especially if you've had them for over a year and it's hardened. So be patient and continue at it!
Salt Water Rinse
★★★★★
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.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
Discover Your Food Sensitivities
★★★★★
I tried gluten again 3 months ago and it seemed fine on my stomach but since I have had 2 styes one being very big maybe I need to annoyingly cut gluten out again then.
Castor Oil
Hot Compress
★★★★★
Key is attacking them promptly. The puss oil will harden eventually, and at that point, surgery is the only real option. I used dish soap because it is the strongest surfactant I knew my eye could tolerate on a temporary basis. I do believe that enough hot soap water finally pushed up the pore into the blockage, which gave way.
Apple Cider Vinegar
★★★★★
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 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.
Treat for Demodex Mites
Echinacea
★★★★★
My pharmacist told me he had the same thing and to take the herb and it was gone.
Chalazion Disappeared On Its Own
Wash your hair and face with Desert Essence tea tree shampoo for a month.
You must wash your bedding as often as possible with detergent borax powder and hot dry heat.
Chalazion Disappeared On Its Own
Triphala, Turmeric
Apple Cider Vinegar
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
Castor Oil, Epsom Salt, Chamomile Tea
If this is a constant battle for you, search demodex mites my posts.
Heat and massage will reduce them but you must get rid of the cause!
Castor Oil, Epsom Salt, Chamomile Tea
Hot Compress, Castor Oil
Demodex mites love oily skin, face oils, face cream, eye makeup. Discard your eye makeup! You must start washing your face with tea tree oil which eliminates the mites. This is a process as it will take a month or more to eradicate them.
You will use only aloe gel as moisturizer. To a quarter size blob of aloe gel add one drop lavender essential oil or tea tree. These oils eradicate mites.
Use a sulphur soap, or PetMd Benzoyl shampoo which has sulphur, benzoyl peroxide and salycylic acid as shampoo and face wash.
Your bedding must be washed in hot water and with detergent and borax. Make sure you dry on high heat. Rotate your pillow cases everyday.
Diet! Mites love dairy. Eliminate! Ask me how I know!
if you cannot get mites under control you might try a pinch of borax in 16 ounces of water see if that helps, if not, then ivermectin might be in your future.
Hot Compress, Castor Oil
★★★★★
In the end, I continued applying the castor oil to the chalazion and to the water line of my upper eyelid. Additionally, the action I believe most helpful, was the gentle pressure and washing of the eyelash area and upper water line (my chalazion was on the upper eyelid). I eventually tapered off the compressed after 1.5 months. I never thought it would go away. It was gone completely within 2.5 - 3 months. I prayed daily, and believed that the probiotic wash which I used to cleanse my upper eyelash area and the water line would heal the chalazion.
The ACV may have helped cleanse my system (I took 2T a day for a week, and the application to the chalazion, and getting it to crust may or may not have been helpful.) To this day, I continue the gentle eyelash and waterline cleansing. Nothing my doctor or opthamalogist prescribed or suggested helped. There are many probiotic washes on the market. Johnson's Baby Shampoo may be a viable option as well.
Best of luck to all of you struggling with this issue. It will go away when you find the solution that works for you. I persisted and researched weekly - with prayer! God bless all of you.
★★★★★
Hope this helps others:
- One ounce tin
- vaseline - this will cover and drown them
- 4 drops tea tree oil
- 4 drop lavender oil
- Melt Vaseline add essential oils and stir well.
- Pour into container.
- Apply everyday and night.
With the petroleum salve with tea tree and lavender, you only need to swipe your finger and get scant amount for your lashline. You do not need to goop up! If you have applied too much wipe off with a tissue.
Make sure you use different hands, tissues, wipes for each eye you do not want to transfer the little bugs over to another eye.
Sulphur soap is helpful as demodex hate the smell BUT it will dry your face out. You can buy it on Amazon.
Additionally helpful to me was to use Desert Essence Organics Lemon Tea Tree Shampoo - you can take the cap off and add additional tea tree and lavender oil. Wash your hair and face. This shampoo is for oily hair so it can be drying to hair and face.
Wash your bedding in detergent and borax in HOT water. Your pillow case wash as much as humanly possible and use HOT heat.
Buy unscented babywipes for your eyes. Amazon Basics or Costco.
Throw out your eye makeup and do not wear any until condition clears or you will make it worse.
My doctor didn't even know about these things or my ophthalmologist!
Treat for Demodex Mites
★★★★★
After many eyelid bumps and doctors saying it was blepharitis etc, I stumbled on an idea that it might be an over abundance of demodex folliculorum. I recalled then when they first appeared... it was after inspecting my uncle's dog who had mange on his tail.
Mange is caused by the same mite!! So long story a bit shorter.... ivermectin!! Obviously do your own research but I ordered some in a paste took the amount one would take for other diseases it is prescribed for tropical parasites....And Voila!
Gone after 2 plus years of these things....I occasionally dose myself maybe every 6 months but the little critters that apparently live on everyone's skin can proliferate given the right conditions and lead to many things including chalazions.
★★★★★
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
★★★★★
