Bumps Under the Eyes (Milia, Styes, Chalazion): Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Some of these risk factors you can control. But others are based on your genetics, health, and required medications.

Syringoma

Syringomas are a cluster of bumps on your skin that are either yellow or the same color as your natural skin tone. These bumps form because your sweat glands (eccrine glands) are overworking. These bumps are harmless and don’t need treatment but you can talk to your provider about removal if you don’t like how they look on your skin.

Overview

What is a syringoma?

A syringoma is a firm bump that resembles a pimple (papule) on your skin that usually forms in small clusters or groups on your skin, most often on your face. Syringomas are the result of your overgrowth of your sweat glands. These bumps are harmless to your body.

What’s the difference between syringoma and milia?

Syringomas and milia have similar symptoms where a group of bumps will form on your skin. Milia are tiny white bumps filled with the skin protein keratin that form most often on a newborn’s skin. Syringomas are small sweat gland growths that look like a yellow or a natural skin tone pimple.

What are the types of syringoma?

There are four types of syringoma:

Localized: Bumps only appear on one area of your body. This is the most common type of syringoma and isn’t associated with any other medical condition.
Associated with Down syndrome: Bumps are the result of genetic changes that happen to your body if you’re diagnosed with Down syndrome.
Generalized (eruptive syringomas): Bumps can appear on multiple different parts of your body and are common among adults.
Familial: You can inherit this type of syringoma from your biological parents.

Who does syringoma affect?

Syringomas can affect anyone but they’re most common among:

Women and people assigned female at birth.
People diagnosed with Down syndrome, Marfan syndrome or diabetes.
People who have a fair skin tone.
Adolescents going through puberty.
Adults between the ages of 40 and 60.

Eruptive syringomas, which are a type of generalized syringoma, most often affect people with a darker skin tone.

How common is syringoma?

Syringomas are most common among people diagnosed with Down syndrome, where almost 20% of people diagnosed with the condition have syringomas. Syringomas are rarer among other populations.

Symptoms and Causes

What are the symptoms of a syringoma?

Symptoms of syringomas include:

A round bump (papule) that’s 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter.
The papule is firm.
The papule is yellow, translucent or the same color as your natural skin tone.
The papule is part of a group or cluster of papules of a similar size, shape and color.

Where do symptoms of syringoma affect my body?

Symptoms of syringoma can affect different parts of your body and usually form near sweat ducts. The most common places on your body where you’ll find symptoms are:

Around or under your eyes or on your eyelids.
On your face.
On your chest.
In your armpits.
On or around your genitals (vulvar, vaginal, penile).

What causes syringoma?

An overgrowth of cells in your sweat glands, also known as the eccrine glands, causes syringoma. Your eccrine glands are sweat glands in your skin. When your body gets warm, your eccrine glands produce sweat to cool your body down.

Several physical and environmental factors can make your eccrine glands overwork and overgrow including:

Stress.
Exercise or physical activity.
High temperatures.
Genetic changes or mutations.
A symptom of a medical condition.

Is syringoma hereditary?

Some causes of syringoma are hereditary, which means you can inherit the condition from your biological parents during conception. When this happens, the cells you receive from your biological parents don’t copy correctly when the egg and sperm meet or your parents pass a gene that has a trait that makes your sweat glands overwork.

If you have a child diagnosed with Down syndrome, your child inherits an extra copy of chromosome 21. This change to your child’s DNA causes symptoms of syringoma in addition to symptoms of Down syndrome.

Diagnosis and Tests

How is syringoma diagnosed?

Your provider will diagnose syringoma after reviewing your complete medical history and physically examining your symptoms. To confirm a diagnosis or to rule out conditions with similar symptoms, your provider might offer tests that could include a skin biopsy. During this test, your provider will remove a small sample of your skin tissue from the affected area of your skin. Your provider will examine the sample under a microscope. A syringoma looks like a tadpole or a comma under a microscope, which confirms your diagnosis.

Management and Treatment

How is syringoma treated?

Syringomas are harmless and don’t need treatment. If you don’t like how the syringoma looks on your skin, you can choose to have the syringoma removed by:

Diathermy (electrosurgery): Diathermy, or “deep heating,” uses electric currents from radio or sound waves to generate heat beneath your skin to remove skin blemishes.
Laser therapy: Powerful beams of light focus on affected areas of your skin to reduce the appearance of syringomas.
Dermabrasion: Dermabrasion scrapes imperfections off of your skin’s surface to reveal new layers of skin.
Excision: Your provider uses surgical tools like a scalpel to remove syringomas from your skin.
Taking medicine: Medicines could be topical, which you can apply to your skin like a lotion, or oral in pill form. Your provider will prescribe medicines specific to your skin and your symptoms.

What medications treat syringomas?

There are several different types of medicines that your provider might use to treat your syringomas if you don’t like how they look on your skin. The most common medications include:

Trichloroacetic acid: Trichloroacetic acid is an acne treatment that can lessen the appearance of syringomas. Your provider will apply this treatment to your skin in the same way as a chemical peel where the chemical sets on your skin for a short amount of time before your provider removes it to reveal healthy skin.
Isotretinoin: Oral isotretinoin is a common treatment for cystic acne but can reduce the appearance of syringomas.
Acitretin: Oral acitretin is a treatment for psoriasis that can minimize syringomas on your skin.

Are there side effects of the treatment?

Before beginning any type of treatment, talk to your provider about the side effects. After treatment to remove the syringomas, you may have scarring on your skin. There is a risk that the syringomas can return after removal.

How to take care of myself after treatment?

Your provider will discuss your post-treatment aftercare plan with you before and after your procedure. Your skin will need time to heal after syringoma removal and the timeline could vary from a few days to a few weeks depending on how much of your skin needed treatment. After surgery, be careful not to injure your surgical site and treat it like an open wound to prevent infections. Don’t participate in any strenuous activities until your provider tells you it’s safe to do so.

Are there home remedies for syringoma removal?

You shouldn’t remove syringomas at home. Talk to your provider if you’re interested in removing syringomas from your skin.

Over-the-counter creams or moisturizers, especially products that include ingredients designed for acne removal like salicylic acid, may not work to remove syringomas.

Bumps Under Eyes Not Milia

Here’s what you need to know about three common causes of under-eye bumps.

What Are Milia?

Milia are tiny white cysts that typically occur under the eyes. They look like small pimples or blisters and usually appear on the cheeks or eyelids.

The cysts are painless, and they can be mistaken for acne. They form when the skin exfoliates, and the old cells shed, but sometimes these cells get trapped under the skin and harden, causing cysts called milia.

Poor hygiene
Oil-based makeup
Lack of sleep
Skin conditions like dandruff
Long-term steroid use
Skin damage from the sun

What Are Styes?

Also known as a hordeolum, a stye is a small, red, painful eyelid lump. Hair follicle infections or bacterial infections cause them. You are at an increased risk of getting a stye if you have blepharitis, which causes eyelid swelling.

Pain helps you identify a stye. Your eyelid is red and swollen, but it also hurts a lot. The following two types of styes exist:

External Hordeolum

This kind of stye grows at the base of the eyelash. It looks like a pimple at first look but reveals itself as a stye after a while. A hair follicle infection is often the contributing factor to an external hordeolum.

Internal Hordeolum

An internal hordeolum develops in the eyelid. Its appearance indicates that you have an infected oil-producing gland in the eyelid.

What Is a Chalazion?

A chalazion is a swollen nodule on the eyelid. It forms because of blockage and clogging of an oil gland in the eyelid. Often, a chalazion may start as an internal hordeolum.

It is usually not as painful as a stye and rarely results from bacteria. However, your eyelid may turn red, swollen, and tender as the chalazion grows. The whole eyelid is likely to swell, in which case you will likely experience blurry vision.

Risk Factors for Eye Bumps

Every kind of bump that occurs under the eyes has its specific cause. Common reasons for spots under the eyes include the following:

Poor hygiene: Skin below and around your eyes sheds naturally, and it’s nourished by oil glands. If you don’t wash properly, old skin cells can get trapped under the skin and form milia cysts.
Infections: If bacterial colonies grow at the base of your eyelashes or under your eyelids, you could develop a stye. Without treatment, a stye can progress into a chalazion.
Long-term steroid use:Corticosteroids are associated with the development of milia.
Underlying health issues: Skin conditions like dandruff or rosacea are associated with milia, as are genetic or autoimmune conditions. The eye health condition blepharitis increases your risk of styes and chalazion, as does diabetes.
Lack of sleep:Struggling with insomnia increases your risk of milia.

How Are Eye Bumps Diagnosed?

A physical exam by an ophthalmologist should be enough to diagnose the type of under-eye bumps. The exam is likely to concentrate on your external eye area.

One specific eyelid exam you can expect is where the eye care provider shines a bright light and uses a magnifier to examine the base of the eyelashes.

Magnification also highlights oil gland openings. Your doctor will ask questions about the eye problems and order further tests.

During diagnosis, the specialist will also likely inquire about your health history. The physician can diagnose your condition depending on other underlying conditions that could cause bumps under the eyes.

How Are Eye Bumps Treated?

The treatment options for eye bumps can vary depending on the type you have and how serious it might be. Sometimes, you can tackle issues at home. But sometimes, you’ll need a doctor’s help.

Treating Milia

At-home care options for milia could include cleaning products like exfoliators, retinol, or facial peels. Ask your doctor before you use them, as they’re not right for all skin types, and you have to be very careful about application around the eye area.

If your milia symptoms don’t go away, your doctor could use one of these treatment options:

Cryotherapy
Heat
Laser surgery
Chemical peels
Dermabrasion

Never squeeze or pop your skin bumps, as that could make them worse.

Treating a Stye or Chalazion

At-home care for a stye or chalazion involves warm compresses. A warm cloth placed on your bump for 10 to 15 minutes could dissolve the clog causing your chalazion and allow the infection to clear.

You can press on the bump after the warm compress to help dissolve the clog. But remember not to squeeze, as that pressure could push the infection into deeper tissues.

If your stye or chalazion doesn’t clear, your doctor could use one of these treatment options:

Antibiotics
Steroid shots
Surgery

When to See a Doctor

If your bumps do not decrease on their own or with at-home treatment, it is time to see your eye doctor or an urgent care physician. This is especially true if the bump under your eyes changes color or shape.

For infants, it is essential to be cautious. Have a doctor examine them when any condition develops.

Can You Wear Makeup to Cover Up the Bumps?

Wearing makeup over bumps will only make them worse. Let your skin heal before putting anything on your eyes that could irritate them.

If you want to continue wearing makeup, consider making the following changes to stem the odds of developing bumps:

Toss out makeup after three months.
Never share your makeup with anyone, including your family members.
Wash your face before applying makeup.
Only put makeup products outside the lash line.

Preventing Future Skin Bumps

The best way to avoid spots is by having a hygienic skincare routine, which includes the following:

Exfoliate your skin regularly. Ask your doctor which is the best exfoliator for your skin type.
Wash your face twice daily.
Remove makeup before going to bed.
Wash your hands before touching your eyes.

Following good eye health practices, like not touching your eyes with unwashed hands, can also help keep you prevent bumps under the eyes.

References

What Are Milia? (May 2021). American Academy of Ophthalmology.
What Is the Difference Between a Stye and a Chalazion? Causes, Symptoms, Treatment . (June 2023). American Academy of Ophthalmology.
What Is Blepharitis? (August 2022). American Academy of Ophthalmology.
How to Use Cosmetics Safely Around Your Eyes . (August 29, 2022). American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Styes and Chalazia (Inflammation of the Eyelid): Overview . (December 2019). InformedHealth.org.
Milia . (January 2023). StatPearls .
Non-Surgical Removal of Milia: Treatment and Aftercare . (March 2021). Journal of Aesthetic Nursing .

Last Updated September 29, 2023

Note: This page should not serve as a substitute for professional medical advice from a doctor or specialist. Please review our about page for more information.