swollen eye lid

crake

I have a swollen eye lid.

Upper eye lid only. It's swollen, tender to the touch. My vision isn't affected, no discharge, no discolouration on either the lid or my eyeball. I don't feel like there's anything stuck in there, nor do I feel like any bumps are developing inside.

The very edge of it though in the middle at the eyelash line is occassionaly itchy though. Possible theory: some sort of strange bug bite? I live in a basement appartment, however, I live in Toronto (canada) which is currently a cold climate.

I'm looking for theories, but also treatment ideas for tonight. (I plan to go to a walk in clinic tomorrow - unless this happens to improve overnight)

.... or, do you think it a better idea to see an eye doctor instead of a gp?

Fats

I'll bet it's a bug bite. I had exactly that a few years ago while camping; went to bed fine, woke up in the morning with my upper eyelid very swollen. I just assumed a spider bit me right on the eyelid. Benadryl killed the swelling, though it itched for a few days.

Fireflash

I know what it is, but I don't remember it's name in english.. a stye I think?

Take a washcloth and soak it in hot water, then press it over your eye. Soak in hot water again when the cloth is getting colder then reapply on your eye. Do this for a few minutes, a few times a day. It'll reduce the swelling and if all goes well it should be gone in a few days.

It's usually at its worst when you wake up in the morning. the swelling is much bigger.

ins0mniac

I'll put money on a stye too.

What's your sleeping schedule like? It's not too uncommon to develop styes by staying up late and not getting enough sleep. Refer to above post on how to treat it.

crake

I thought a sty was a small bump that develops?

Or is the swelling a sign and then it turns into a bump?

tony_important

I once had a pimple or something on the inside of my eyelid...

I got so fed up i gave it a squeeze. What a relief. Although, i wouldn't recommend that you do that. I have no idea what's going on your end.

Put a hot cloth on it. it'll keep the swelling down.

Lejin

I once had something similar to this, at first it was just a swelling eye lid. Then I began to have stinging pain in eye/eyelid. I went to the walk in clinic and turns out I had some sort of infection. So I got a shot in the ass and was put on antibiotics.

So if you start to get a sharp stinging pain, head to the doctor.

Mariam

Follow the hot washcloth instructions, you can also safely wash out your eye using J&J "No More Tears" baby shampoo.

If it's not gone in a day or two, or it stings or affects your vision, see a doctor.

Dalboz

You might want to see a doctor if it doesn't clear up in a day or two. I had something like this one time and eventually went to the doctor. It was some kind of infection in my eyelid (he actually gave it a name, but I don't remember since it was so long ago). In and of itself it needed treatment to get better, but it wasn't actually dangerous unless it started putting pressure on my eye. The doctor gave me some eyedrops, and it cleared up in about three days, IIRC.

Raziel_pm

I refer you to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalazion

I had this back in March. Had a fun minor operation to get rid of it. Came out right as rain.

Whiniest Man On Earth

Other than the hot cloth solution, you can do the same thing with a hot bag of chamomile tea, which also acts as an anti-bacterial agent.

Zifnab

Something else to watch out for is the amount of eye gunk you have in the morning. If you still have the bump after a couple days, and you seem to have an abnormal amount of gunk in your eye when you wake up (like eyes glued shut abnormal), then hit up a doctor. That's a sign of a variety of eye infections, ranging from harmless but obnoxious to somewhat not-good.

It could be a chalazion, too. I get those every now and then. Had surgery for one, had a doctor surprise me by popping it without warning (he called it evacuating, but we all know what it was), and was put on some steroid drops for a couple more. It's not that big a deal, but if it persists, see an eye doctor about it.

Edit: The hot compresses are a very good idea. I've been told that if you heat/cook a potato, wrap it in a damp cloth, and put that on your eye, it works a lot better because the heat stays longer and more consistent, which helps. I've tried this trick, and while it's a pain to heat the potato, it does actually work really well, and you get to eat a potato when you're done. Win win.