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.

Many eyelid problems are not serious.

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

a lump that goes away by itself after several days or 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 pharmacist, GP or optician.

There is separate information about twitching eyelids.

You can ask a pharmacist about:

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

See a GP if:

your swollen eyelid is red, hot, painful, tender or blistered
your eyelid droops suddenly
you cannot open your eye or keep it open
the pain is in your eye (not your eyelid)
the white of your eye is very red, in part or all over
you have eye symptoms and a headache or you feel sick or are being sick
a newborn baby (less than 1 month old) has a sticky, red eye
you're sensitive to light (photophobia)
your eyesight changes – for example, you have blurred vision and see wavy flashing lights, zigzag patterns or coloured spots or lines
you have a very high temperature, or feel hot and shivery, or you feel generally unwell
you think it's an allergic reaction