Chalazion (Lump in Eyelid)

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Medical Author:

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Dr. Dahl's educational background includes a BA with Honors and Distinction from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, and an MD from Cornell University, where he was selected for Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. He had an internal medical internship at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

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Medical Editor:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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A chalazion is a lump of the lid that is caused by obstruction of the drainage duct of an oil gland within the upper or lower eyelid. This lump may increase in size over days to weeks and may occasionally become red, warm, or painful.

The gland involved in the formation of a chalazion is a modified oil gland (meibomian gland) that lies within the eyelid. There are about 30-40 of these glands within each of the upper and lower lids. These glands secrete oil into the tears. When one of these glands becomes blocked, it can increase in size and cause a visible lump.

Although a sty is also a lump in the eyelid caused by obstruction of an oil gland, a chalazion is not a sty. A sty, or hordeolum, represents an acute infection of the gland. A chalazion is not an infection but is an inflammation of the area. Inflammation is a process in which the body reacts to a condition and produces swelling, redness, pain, or warmth. A sty is usually more painful than a chalazion and may appear infected.

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