We have moved to a new site

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

Find a pharmacy

See a GP if:

Ask for an urgent GP or optician appointment or get help from NHS 111 if: