Dr. Andrew Tharp answers the question: What are chalazia and styes?

In this video, Andrew W. Tharp, MD, FACS, Ophthalmologist at The Vision Care Center in Evansville, Indiana, explains the difference between chalazia and styes.

One problem we deal with almost every week is a patient with a chalazion or stye around the eye. It's never easy to tell the difference between a stye and a chalazion. But, classically, a stye is infected and is closer to the lid margin and deals more with the lashes, whereas a chalazion will occur higher in the eyelid, less near the lid margin, and is not as infected.

Who's at risk for a stye or chalazion? Well, anybody. They will often come on without warning and will even be re-occurrent and appear in different eyelids at different times.

Commonly, a patient with a stye or chalazion will have a condition known as Blepharitis. This is when the oils associated with the margin of the eyelid accumulate and can attract bacteria, and, they too, can become sources of chronic infection.

What's the treatment for a stye or chalazion? The cornerstone of treatment is lid hygiene. It involves warm, damp compresses such as warm, damp soaks and lid scrubs frequently with half-strength baby shampoo. We will also use antibiotics, either topical or oral.

If we can't get these to resolve with local measures, we can perform a quick office procedure to drain the infected gland or the part of the eyelid that is involved.

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