chalazion for 6 months

[Suzy92]

Hi, i have had a chalazion for about six months. It has gotten smaller than how it was before. I was wondering if it will go away on its own. I read that it take 12 to 18 months for chalazions to clear up on their own. I use erythromycin ointment and i put hot compresses every night. (raw rice in a sock heated up is what i use for the hot compresses.)

[Suzy92]

Thank you for your response. So you dont think it will go away on its own?? I am willing to wait. I dont want the excision because I have heard that it can leave your eyelid loose and hanging and that your eye doesnt return to its normal state. I went to one ophthalmologist and he said i wont need the surgery, but then i went to another one and he said that i did, even though its really small, so i didn't believe him. He just looked at it for not even a minute and said i need surgery, so i wont be going back there anymore.

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

You may be waiting a long time.  I've seen them persist for a year or two.  Talk to your ophthalmologist about a possible steroid injection or excision.  Those are the other options you haven't tried yet.  The way you are treating it, they sometimes get better but it has already been 6 months.