My newborn is 2 months and 3 weeks old and he has been consistently rubbing his eyelids. He rubs his left one more than his right so his left one is really swollen and red. It doesn't look as bad if he doesn't rub it for awhile but then it gets swollen again once he rubs it. I've tried putting petroleum jelly on his eyelids to see if that helps heal it faster but I think his constant rubbing is preventing it from getting better. 

This morning I tried something different and swaddled him while he was about to take a long nap to prevent him from rubbing his eyelids. I've stopped swaddling him after about a month or so and now I'm back at it. I also decided to used Vitamin E oil instead of petroleum jelly this afternoon and it has looked significantly better. I suggest trying Vitamin E oil. Make sure they don't get into his eyes though which can be tricky. Just use very, very little. It'll spread on it's own since it's an oil.