What kind of doctor do I need?

January 18, 2021 8:49 PM

Is this a job for an ophthalmologist or dermatologist? For the last two days my eyelid has felt a little sore along the lash line. I just took a close look and I seem to have a line of three very small growths, kind of warty I guess, like the beginning of skin tags. Possibly relevant: I live in a small town so there’s not a lot of specialization available.
posted by HotToddy to Health & Fitness (17 answers total)

You should have that checked out by a primary caregiver. The PC will refer you to a specialist for a consult if necessary.
posted by Stuka at 8:57 PM on January 18, 2021

Sounds like a stye or chalazion. I would agree that a primary care provider would be an appropriate person to consult, though I have typically just used home care for this type of ailment. Feel better soon!
posted by reren at 9:22 PM on January 18, 2021 [5 favorites]

In the meantime hold a very warm damp cloth over your eye for 10 minutes a few times a day. It will help with the soreness and sometimes even clear it up. Warm black tea bags work too.
posted by ananci at 9:32 PM on January 18, 2021 [9 favorites]

Agreed that you should try a warm compress several times a day for now. I had a couple of sties several months ago and they disappeared within a day or so just from that treatment. So yes, book an appointment with a doctor if this continues to bother you, but see if a day of warm compresses makes any difference.
posted by maudlin at 9:56 PM on January 18, 2021

Have had eye issues. In addition to warm compress on eye for 20 minutes a few times a day, my ophthalmologist suggested I use some baby shampoo on a wet washcloth and gently wash eye about 20x, then do the warm compress.
posted by lois1950 at 1:03 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

Sounds very much like the styes that I get, and then wait out, and then they go away.

If this is a new thing, I'd maybe ask a GP. I am very much not a doctor, and certainly not your doctor and, to be fair, I'm a bit doctor-avoidant, but I reckon if you ignore it it will go away.
posted by pompomtom at 3:53 AM on January 19, 2021

I’d consult your ophthalmologist. They’re experienced in diagnosing and treating issues pertaining to eyelids.
posted by cheapskatebay at 5:11 AM on January 19, 2021 [3 favorites]

I've had any number of styes and skin tags. If they're styes, they will definitely go away with the aid of a warm compress, used frequently throughout the day, as others have mentioned. You also want to gently press downward on the eyelid to "milk" them. A couple of times I've let them go too long and had to have them lanced at the ophthalmologist, which is very unpleasant. (They would have eventually gone away on their own, but they were affecting my vision.) The skin tags, on the other hand, were zapped away by the dermatologist. I wouldn't want anyone doing that who hadn't done it before, as it requires pinpoint precision! Skin tags generally aren't tender, though, just unsightly (pun intended!).
posted by wisekaren at 5:46 AM on January 19, 2021

In the interest of minimizing your time spent in doctors’ offices, just go to an ophthalmologist if you can. The people I know who had to wait for referrals to a specialist had to spend two or three appointments with a PCP not solving the problem before an ophthalmologist took care of it in ten minutes.
posted by corey flood at 6:15 AM on January 19, 2021

Response by poster: I wish I had been able to check in sooner—it is definitely not a stye, I’ve had many of those. It’s some kind of growth that will need to be removed.
posted by HotToddy at 7:08 AM on January 19, 2021

Hmm, they could be milia, which can look like sort of like what you're describing but are still be able to be removed without surgical means.
posted by limeonaire at 7:28 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

When I had a chalazion as a kid, I went straight to my ophthalmologist, although A) this was a long time ago, and B) he was my father's best friend.
posted by adamrice at 7:43 AM on January 19, 2021

I had an AskMe about something similar once, I described mine as looking like little bubbles. The leading guess here was chalazion, but the actual diagnosis ended up being "epithelial inclusion." Only one ever got large enough to be visible to people who weren't right in front of my face.

In the interest of "taking care of it for good" I had outpatient surgery to remove them, which literally consisted of a doctor cutting into my eyelid while I gritted my teeth. They grew back anyway. They had told me that was a risk.

I had had these once before and an opthalmologist lanced them, which didn't remove the blockage but released the backed-up fluid and made me look entirely normal again. Were it not for [gestures broadly at everything] I would have gone in and had that done again, but things being what they are, I have opted to let it be for now.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:21 AM on January 19, 2021

start with your GP
posted by evilmonk at 9:16 AM on January 19, 2021

I don't fuck around with my eyes, I'd go to an ophthalmologist.
posted by radioamy at 12:26 PM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

I had a similar question and my ophlamologist was able to answer it.
posted by sepviva at 12:43 PM on January 19, 2021

Response by poster: Okay, I made an appointment with an ophthalmologist. Thanks all!
posted by HotToddy at 1:15 PM on January 19, 2021