The small, pinkish bump you can see (and feel) in the inner corner of your eye is almost certainly the lacrimal caruncle, a normal piece of anatomy that everyone has. It is a tiny mound of modified skin and mucous membrane sitting right where your upper and lower eyelids meet near your nose. Most people never notice it until one day they look closely in a mirror and wonder whether something is wrong. In the vast majority of cases, nothing is. But if the bump has recently changed in size, color, or texture, or if it appeared where there was only flat tissue before, the list of possible causes ranges from harmless cysts and moles to infections and, rarely, tumors that need prompt attention.
The Lacrimal Caruncle and Why It Is There
The caruncle is a small, fleshy nodule about the size of a lentil. It sits in the medial canthus, which is the medical name for the inner corner of the eye where the lids converge closest to the bridge of the nose. Unlike the rest of the conjunctiva (the clear tissue lining the inside of your eyelids), the caruncle contains sebaceous glands, sweat glands, and fine hair follicles. You may even spot a few tiny, almost invisible hairs growing from it if you look with magnification. Those glands produce oils and mucus that contribute to the tear film, helping lubricate the eye’s surface every time you blink.
The caruncle also sits right next to the puncta, the pinpoint openings where tears drain from the eye surface into the nasolacrimal duct and ultimately down into your nose. Because of this location, swelling in or near the caruncle can sometimes interfere with tear drainage, causing a watery eye even when the bump itself is benign.
For most people wondering about the bump, the answer stops here: it is your caruncle, it has always been there, and it is doing its job. The more pressing question is when a bump in this area is not just the caruncle doing its thing.
Moles and Papillomas on the Caruncle
If you notice a new or changing bump specifically on the caruncle, the two most common growths are nevi (the medical term for moles) and papillomas (small wart-like growths). Together, these account for the majority of caruncle tumors. Studies examining excised caruncle lesions found that nevi made up roughly a third to nearly 60 percent of cases, while papillomas accounted for about a fifth to a third.1PubMed Central. Lacrimal Caruncle Nevus with Papilloma
A caruncle nevus looks like a small, pigmented spot. It can be flat or slightly raised, and its color ranges from tan to dark brown. Many people have had one since childhood without realizing it. A papilloma, on the other hand, tends to be flesh-colored or slightly pink, with an irregular, bumpy surface reminiscent of a tiny cauliflower. Papillomas in this location are often linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), the same family of viruses that causes warts elsewhere on the body.
Neither a nevus nor a papilloma is dangerous by itself. The concern with nevi is the same as with skin moles anywhere on the body: a small fraction can transform into melanoma over time. An eye doctor will want to photograph a pigmented bump and monitor it for changes in size, shape, or color. Papillomas are benign but can recur after removal, and large ones can irritate the eye or obstruct tear drainage. Excision is straightforward in most cases and is done under local anesthesia.
Infections Near the Inner Corner
Not every bump in this region sits on the caruncle itself. The tissue surrounding it, including the tear drainage channels, can also swell and produce a visible lump. One infection that targets this exact area is canaliculitis, an infection of the lacrimal canaliculus, the tiny tube that carries tears from the punctum into the tear sac. Canaliculitis causes localized swelling along the inner eyelid margin, along with redness, tearing, and sometimes a yellowish discharge or pus that can be expressed from the punctum.2PubMed Central. A case report on complete cure of recurrent primary canaliculitis by 4-snip punctoplasty and canalicular curettage People sometimes mistake this swelling for a new bump growing on the eye itself.
Dacryocystitis, an infection of the tear sac located slightly lower and closer to the side of the nose, produces a similar picture but with more dramatic swelling. You may see a red, tender lump between the inner corner of the eye and the bridge of the nose, sometimes with pus draining through the punctum when you press on it. Both canaliculitis and dacryocystitis typically respond to antibiotics, though canaliculitis can be stubborn and sometimes requires a minor surgical procedure to clear out concretions, which are small calcified deposits, that have built up inside the canaliculus.
A stye or chalazion that forms on the inner portion of the eyelid can also look like a bump “in” the inner corner. These are blocked oil glands, and while they occur most often toward the middle of the lid margin, they can develop anywhere along it. If the bump is tender, warm, and appeared over a day or two, an infection or blocked gland is the most likely explanation and usually resolves on its own or with warm compresses.
Rarer Benign Growths
Beyond moles and papillomas, the caruncle can develop a handful of less common benign tumors. One of the more distinctive is an oncocytoma, a slow-growing mass that arises from the glandular tissue in the caruncle. Oncocytomas are rare and overwhelmingly benign, but because a variety of other tumors can look similar, surgical removal and examination under a microscope are recommended to confirm the diagnosis.3PubMed Central. Oncocytoma: a rare neoplasm of the caruncle These growths tend to appear in older adults, particularly women, and present as a painless, slowly enlarging bump that may have a slightly reddish or brownish tint.4Tumori Journal. Oxyphil Cell Adenoma (Oncocytoma) of the Lacrimal Caruncle: A Case Report
Dermoid cysts and other developmental cysts can also occur in and around the caruncle, though they are uncommon. A dermoid cyst is a smooth, round, firm lump that has been present since birth (or close to it) and contains tissue that would normally be found elsewhere in the body, like skin or hair follicles trapped during embryonic development. In infants, a congenital mass in the caruncle area may turn out to be a choristoma, which is a growth made of normal tissue that ended up in an abnormal location during development.5PubMed Central. A caruncular choristoma presenting as an eyelid mass in an infant These are benign and generally only removed if they are large enough to cause symptoms.
When the Bump Could Be Cancerous
Cancer in the inner corner of the eye is uncommon, but it does happen. The most frequent malignant tumor in the periocular area is basal cell carcinoma (BCC).6Surgical Case Reports. A Case Report of Successful Management with Long Term Survival of Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Internal Canthus of the Right Eye While BCC occurs most often on the lower eyelid, the inner corner accounts for roughly 15 percent of periocular cases.7Reflection. Surgical treatment of basal cell carcinoma of the inner corner of the eye using defect closure with a free flap. A clinical case. That makes the medial canthus the second most common site after the lower lid.
BCC in this area often starts as a small, painless nodule with a pearly or waxy appearance and tiny visible blood vessels on its surface. Over time it can develop a central depression or ulcer that may bleed intermittently.7Reflection. Surgical treatment of basal cell carcinoma of the inner corner of the eye using defect closure with a free flap. A clinical case. Because the inner corner sits close to the tear drainage system and the orbit, delayed diagnosis can be a serious problem. Advanced BCC in this location can invade the lacrimal pathways, the bony eye socket, and, in extreme cases, even extend toward the brain. The overwhelming majority of BCCs are caught and treated well before that point, but the stakes underscore why any persistent, slowly growing bump in this area deserves a medical evaluation.
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is rarer around the eye but can also present as a bump or ulcerated lesion in the inner corner. One documented case involved a growth that was initially dismissed as an ordinary “eye bump” before biopsy revealed it to be SCC.8Canadian Journal of Optometry. A Clinical Masquerader: Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Eyelid Previously Diagnosed as an Eye Bump The takeaway is not to panic about every inner-corner bump, but to recognize that bumps that grow steadily, ulcerate, bleed, or change in appearance over weeks to months should be evaluated rather than ignored.
Systemic Diseases That Show Up in the Inner Corner
Occasionally a bump in the inner corner of the eye turns out to be the first visible sign of a disease affecting the rest of the body. Sarcoidosis, an inflammatory condition that can affect the lungs, skin, and eyes, is one example. Ocular sarcoidosis typically causes inflammation inside the eye (uveitis), but in rare cases it can present as a painless swelling at the inner canthus, sometimes appearing before any other symptoms develop.9Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences. A Rare Presentation of Solitary Ocular Sarcoidosis The swelling in sarcoidosis is caused by granulomas, which are clusters of immune cells that form in response to chronic inflammation.
Other systemic conditions, including certain lymphomas, can occasionally involve the conjunctiva or lacrimal gland area and produce a visible mass near the inner corner. These are rare enough that they are not worth losing sleep over, but they illustrate why a doctor’s examination matters when a bump does not fit the usual pattern of a benign mole, a stye, or simple irritation.
How Doctors Figure Out What a Bump Is
An ophthalmologist or optometrist will start with a slit-lamp examination, which uses a specialized microscope and bright light to view the structures of the front of your eye at high magnification. This is usually enough to identify obvious moles, papillomas, cysts, and infections.
When the diagnosis is unclear, a biopsy is the definitive step. The bump (or a piece of it) is removed and examined under a microscope. This is especially important because many different lesions in the inner corner can look alike to the naked eye. Tumors of the lacrimal drainage system, for instance, frequently mimic ordinary inflammatory or obstructive conditions, which can delay diagnosis if nobody thinks to biopsy them. Imaging, such as a CT or MRI scan, may be added if there is concern that a mass extends deeper into the orbit or the nasolacrimal duct system.
For straightforward cases, no special tests are needed. A stye resolves with warm compresses. A small, stable nevus gets photographed and monitored at regular eye exams. The decision tree really only escalates when something looks atypical, keeps growing, or causes persistent symptoms like pain, bleeding, or vision changes.
Red Flags Worth Knowing
Most bumps in the inner corner of the eye are benign and will either go away on their own or sit there harmlessly for years. But a handful of features should prompt you to schedule an eye appointment sooner rather than later:
- Rapid growth: A bump that doubles in size over a few weeks is behaving differently from a stable mole or a slow-growing benign tumor.
- Ulceration or bleeding: A surface that breaks down, crusts, or bleeds intermittently is a hallmark of skin cancers like BCC.
- Color change: A pigmented lesion that becomes darker, develops irregular borders, or shows multiple colors should be examined, just as you would with a suspicious mole on your skin.
- Pain or vision changes: Most benign bumps are painless. New pain, double vision, or a displaced eyeball suggests something is pressing on deeper structures.
- Persistent discharge: Pus, mucus, or blood-tinged tears draining from the inner corner point toward infection or, less commonly, a tumor involving the tear drainage system.
None of these signs guarantees cancer or a serious disease, but each one warrants a professional look. Early detection matters most for the conditions where treatment is simplest when the growth is small.
Why This Area Is So Prone to Confusion
The inner corner of the eye packs a surprising amount of anatomy into a very small space. Within a few millimeters you have the caruncle with its glands and hair follicles, the plica semilunaris (a small fold of conjunctiva just next to the caruncle, sometimes called the vestigial third eyelid), the upper and lower puncta, the canaliculi, and the top of the nasolacrimal duct. A growth or swelling in any one of these structures can look like a bump “in the corner of the eye,” yet each has a different cause and a different treatment.
This anatomical crowding is also why bumps here tend to produce symptoms out of proportion to their size. A tiny papilloma on the caruncle might rub against the plica every time you blink, causing irritation and redness that makes it look worse than it is. A small infection in the canaliculus can block tear drainage and give you a watery eye that feels like a much bigger problem. And a slow-growing skin cancer on the medial canthus can quietly approach critical structures before anyone realizes it is more than a minor blemish.
The practical upshot is simple. If the bump in the inner corner of your eye has been there as long as you can remember, is the same size and color it has always been, and causes no symptoms, you are almost certainly looking at your own lacrimal caruncle. If anything has changed, a brief visit to an eye doctor can settle the question quickly, and in the rare cases where treatment is needed, catching it early makes everything easier.
Allergies, Dryness, and Temporary Swelling
Not every noticeable bump is a growth or an infection. Seasonal allergies can cause generalized swelling of the conjunctiva (called chemosis), and because the caruncle is part of the conjunctival tissue, it can puff up along with everything else. The result is a temporarily enlarged, sometimes itchy bump in the inner corner that subsides once the allergic reaction passes. Antihistamine eye drops or oral allergy medications usually bring it back to normal within hours to days.
Chronic dry eye can also make the caruncle more prominent. When the eye surface is under-lubricated, the tissue in the inner corner may become inflamed and slightly swollen. This tends to fluctuate: worse in dry environments, after prolonged screen use, or in the morning after sleeping with a fan blowing across your face. Artificial tears and attention to environmental humidity often help.
Contact lens wearers sometimes report a bump or irritation in the inner corner as well. A lens that has migrated medially or a fragment of a torn lens trapped under the eyelid can press against the caruncle and cause localized swelling. Removing the offending lens material and using lubricating drops resolves the issue. If the swelling persists after the lens is out, the same general rule applies: have it checked to make sure something else is not going on beneath the surface.