What are styes & chalazia?

A stye and chalazion may appear alike, but they differ in their causes, symptoms, and how they’re treated.

These conditions occur when the delicate oil glands in the eyelids become clogged or inflamed, disrupting healthy tear film and eyelid function.

• Styes (hordeola) are painful, red, swollen bumps on the eyelid caused by an infected oil gland, often resembling a pimple.

• Chalazia are firm, painless nodules that develop when an oil gland becomes blocked, often after a stye has healed.

While a stye may resolve on its own, a chalazion often lingers and may require professional treatment to fully resolve. At Envision 2020 Eyecare, we offer advanced in-office treatments and personalized care plans to safely resolve styes and chalazia, while helping prevent them from coming back.

We use OptiLight Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) therapy to help treat and prevent styes and chalazia . This state of the art treatment targets the underlying inflammation and blocked oil glands in the eyelids. By delivering gentle, precisely controlled pulses of light to the skin around the eyelids, OptiLight helps warm and liquefy hardened oils within the meibomian glands, improving natural oil flow and reducing bacterial load. This process calms chronic eyelid inflammation, promotes healthier tear film, and supports faster resolution of existing bumps while also lowering the risk of future styes and chalazia. The treatment is non-invasive, quick, and designed to be comfortable, making it an effective option for patients with recurrent eyelid bumps linked to meibomian gland dysfunction and blepharitis.