Growing Up: Cyst of the Eye

So Big Boy's first few weeks of school was hampered by a swollen eye. It was big and nasty looking.

At first, we thought it was a stye. But the doctor diagnosed it as a chalazion, resulting from a blocked oil gland. I still don't really know the difference, but you can read more about it here.

After diagnosis, the doctor assured us that it wasn't contagious, so Boy could attend classes as usual, with the teacher's approval. I was concerned that he would be teased for his swollen eye, but his classmates were understanding. They just asked what happened, and then that was it.

The only remedy we were told to do was to wash with salt water and do hot compress on the chalazion and to clean the pus when it bursts. We were also given an antiseptic cream to apply after the chalazion burst — not before, else there will be new skin forming on the surface while the gland is still clogged.

It took about two weeks for it to fully subside. Thankful that we didn't need to do any surgery to remove it :-)