Eyelid problems

Find out what to do if you have a lump on your eyelid, or an eyelid that's swollen, sticky, itchy or painful.

Most eyelid problems are harmless

Many eyelid problems are not serious.

It's fairly common to have any of these problems:

a lump that goes away by itself after 3 or 4 weeks
mildly itchy, flaky or sticky eyelids that clear up by themselves
swelling from a nearby insect bite, injury or operation that goes away after a week or so
twitching or blinking from time to time – often when you're tired
eyelids that droop (or get more "hooded") as you get older

Your symptoms might give you an idea of what's causing your eyelid problem. But do not self-diagnose – see a GP if you're worried.

Eyelid problem	Possible cause
Lump or swelling on eyelid	Stye or chalazion
Itchy, flaky, sticky or swollen eyelid	Allergy, blepharitis or conjunctivitis
Yellow lump or patch on eyelid	Xanthelasma (yellow patches sometimes caused by high cholesterol)
Eyelid turning outwards or inwards	Ectropion or entropion
Hot, painful and swollen eyelid	Cellulitis

There is separate information about twitching eyelids.

You can ask a pharmacist about:

what you can do to treat common eyelid problems yourself
if you can buy anything to help – for example, cleaning solutions for sticky eyelids
if you need to see an optician or GP

your swollen eyelid is red, hot, painful, tender or blistered
your eyelid droops suddenly
the pain is in your eye (not your eyelid)
the white of your eye is very red, in part or all over
you're sensitive to light (photophobia)
your eyesight changes – for example, you see wavy lines or flashing
you have a very high temperature, or feel hot and shivery, or you feel generally unwell
you think it's an allergic reaction