White Pimple on Eyelid: Treatments and Causes
Shushanik is always looking for ways to improve her skin and address problem areas. She loves sharing her findings with her readers.
Eyes painting by Rayjaurigue
What's Causing a White Bump on My Eyelid?
A white bump on your eyelid is likely caused by an infection of the oil glands. It happens when a hair follicle at the base of your eyelash is infected. The bump can be spontaneous, and appear once in a while, or it can be repetitive and constantly
appear because of inflammation or skin damage. Here are a couple of risk factors.
- Poor hygiene: If you are in the habit of always rubbing your eyes with possibly dirty hands instead of wiping with a clean handkerchief, you are surely exposing your eyes to bacterial infection.
- Certain health conditions: People with diabetes or those living under constant stress are much more likely to get bumps on the eyelid. As stress is known to increase one’s blood lipid level which results in blockage of oil glands.
One of the most common bacteria found on the skin is Staphylococcus aureus which causes up to 90% of eye infections. If a hair follicle at the base of your eyelash is infected, it could lead to the eruption of pimple on the eyelid.
Symptoms
There are several symptoms and signs associated with pimples on the eyelid.
- The first is redness around the eyes.
- The next symptom is tenderness and pain in the affected eye area.
- The eye will also feel scratchy at the initial stage of the pimple outbreak.
- Later on, you will experience symptoms like steady swelling of the eyes, inability to blink comfortably, watery eyes and overreaction to stream of light, especially bright light.
How to Get Rid of It
Luckily, many of the common causes of those white bumps are easy to take care of with a few lifestyle changes.
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- Don't rub your eyes with unclean hands, use a clean handkerchief instead. If you need to touch your eyes (e.g. to wear contact lenses), wash your hands first.
- Don't share your cosmetic products and don't use them past their expiration date.
- Don't use any cosmetic products on an infected eyelid.
- Clean your eyelids with a baby shampoo or a gentle soap.
- Use pre-moistened eyelid cleaning pads every day to curb the risk of bumps appearance.
Professional Treatments That Might Help
| Treatment | What Is It? | How Is It Done? |
|---|---|---|
Mechanical method | Popping bumps using sterile needle | Cosmetologist will cleanse, disinfect skin and pop whitehead using sterile needle removing its contents |
Electrocoagulation | Burning bumps with electricity | The affected area is treated by variable high-frequency electric current. A crust that forms on the skin after application goes away very quickly and leaves no scars. |
Laser coagulation | Burning bumps with laser | The affected area is treated by laser. As with electrocoagulation, a crust will go away in a couple of days. |
In-Depth Look at Treatment Methods
Whatever you do, don't ever pop your bumps yourself! This can be done only by a qualified professional.
Whiteheads on eyelid appear one by one or in groups. The inflammation is very rare, as such pimple is basically a clogged pore that accumulated sebum. Sebum tries to get out, but can't. There is no contact with the skin, and the pimple is not subjected to the infection thus remaining white. So pimple on the eyelid is more of an aesthetic problem. Nevertheless, don't delay your visit to cosmetologist It's almost impossible to remove pimple on eyelid by yourself and it won't go away by itself.
There are several treatments for pimples on eyelid:
- Mechanical method: certified specialist will cleanse, disinfect skin and remove whiteheads. Cosmetologist will pop whitehead using sterile needle and remove its contents (remember, this can be done only by certified professional!).
- Electrocoagulation: This process is based on burning of the affected area by variable high-frequency electric current. A crust that forms on the skin after application goes away very quickly and leaves no scars.
- Laser coagulation: This is one of the priority ways of whitehead treatments. It's done using laser, not electricity like in electrocoagulation. The principle is the same. After laser coagulation there is also a crust that will go away in a couple of days.
Potential Complications
- Just as mentioned earlier, complications could arise from the outbreak of a pimple on the eyelid if you continually rub, scratch or try to squeeze out the forming white matter from the pimple. If you do any of these, there is a big possibility of the infection spreading to other follicles of the eyelash which could cause multiple pimples on the eyelid.
- In severe cases, the infection could even spread to your eyelid and result in blepharitis. It could also lead to orbital cellulites, an infection of the tissues of the eye area.
- In a situation where improper lancing of the growth is carried out, it could result in deformation of the eyelashes and also disrupt the growth of eyelashes to a large extent.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
