Puffy eyes or Periorbital edema is a common finding observed as swelling or puffiness around the eye tissue. In layman’s terms, they are also referred to as undereye bags. These are common as age progresses and the tissues surrounding your eyes weaken. The muscles supporting the eyelids lose their firmness and thus the fat, which helps to support your eyes, moves into your lower eyelids, making them look puffy.
“Do you wonder what the reason for puffy eyes is?” Or “What causes them?” Or “How can you remove your under-eye bags at home?” Don’t worry! We have your back, although they can be cumbersome, puffy eyes don’t affect your vision or health.
Highlights
What Are Puffy Eyes?
Puffy eyes or Periorbital puffiness are mild swelling under the eyes. These include saggy or loose skin and dark circles. Undereye bags are usually a cosmetic concern and are not an implication of a serious condition. They can be treated by home remedies and lifestyle changes.
What Causes Puffy Eyes?
Undereye bags are usually caused when the tissues and muscles supporting the eyelids weaken and lose their firmness. The skin becomes saggy and subcutaneous fat gets deposited around the eye. Fluid can also accumulate in the space, causing puffiness or swelling.
The primary cause of this is inflammation around the orbit resulting in fluid accumulation. This condition may not be of any serious clinical significance but is often attributed to various lifestyle causes like, lack of sleep, allergy, increased salt consumption, increased alcohol uptake, excessive screentime, and various hormonal changes in the body. Medical conditions like dermatitis, renal diseases, hypertension, dermatomyositis, or thyroid eye disease can also lead to puffy eyes.
There are various risk factors associated with puffy eyes- old age, fluid retention, allergies, genetics, smoking, and lack of sleep. These don’t require any medical care unless they cause vision problems, irritation, or headaches. In such cases, see your healthcare provider, who will guide you and rule out other possible causes that can contribute to the undereye swelling.
How to Get Rid of Puffy Eyes?
There are various approaches for reducing undereye swelling, depending on the causes. Home remedies can temporarily shrink the puffiness but for an effective treatment, medical treatment is often necessary.
At-Home Treatment for Undereye Bags
If you are waking up with swollen, saggy, puffy eyes, then these quick fixes can help you get rid of swelling until it subsides naturally throughout the day.
1. Cold compresses
The application of ice packs or frozen bag of vegetables or chilled cucumber slices or refrigerated spoons over your closed eyes can lessen inflammation and swelling.
2. Tea bags
The main ingredients in tea bags are caffeine and natural tannins. Caffeine penetrates the skin barrier and increases blood circulation, whereas tannins work as an astringent and constrict body tissue. Green tea, black tea, and chamomile tea bags can be commonly used over your eyes to reduce puffiness.
3. Witch hazel
It is a natural antioxidant and astringent, which has a tightening effect on the skin. You can soak cotton pads with cold witch hazel and apply it on your lower eyelids for 5-10 mins, couple of times throughout the day. Make sure you prevent witch hazel from getting into your eyes.
4. Undereye rollers
There are plenty of undereye rollers available in the market that can help reduce swelling, and dark circles and provide anti-aging benefits. These devices cool the area and provide massage to swollen areas, which helps boost circulation.
5. Applying undereye creams or gels
Many creams or gels help combat puffiness, reduce inflammation, and constrict blood vessels. An undereye cream gel made up of phytoextracts, hyaluronic acid, and peptides can help to visibly reduce dark circles and help smoothen out wrinkles, fine lines, and puffiness.
6. Dietary changes
Having a healthy diet and staying hydrated may reduce the appearance of undereye bags. You should have 8-10 glasses of water per day. Eat water-rich fruits and vegetables. Avoid consumption of too much alcohol, coffee or energy drinks. You should cut extra salt from your diet because excessive sodium leads to fluid retention.
Medical Options for Treatment of Puffy Eyes
So, if you are done with these undereye bags, then these medical treatments can improve and permanently eliminate them.
(a) Non-surgical options
1. Fillers – In this treatment, a filler material like hyaluronic acid, is injected at the area where the undereye and cheek meets, to create a smooth transition. This is usually performed by a doctor under local anesthesia.
2. Laser resurfacing – This treatment involves the removal of surface layers of saggy skin in the lower eye areas with the help of lasers and stimulates new collagen growth.
3. Chemical peels – These remove the superficial top layers of the wrinkled undereye skin and reveal tighter, brighter skin.
(b) Surgical options
A lower eyelid lift surgery is one of the options for treating puffy eyes. It is an outpatient procedure, in which the surgeon removes the fats from the under-eye areas and tightens the muscles to create a smooth appearance. In most cases, fillers or eyelid lift surgery is accompanied by laser resurfacing. The eye area is a very delicate portion of your face, so it’s highly crucial to find an experienced surgeon who specializes in such kinds of treatments.
Take Away!
You may notice puffiness around your eyes as you grow older or due to several lifestyle changes. Adopting a healthy lifestyle can help you get rid of puffy eyes in a short period.
However, periorbital puffiness can have a serious underlying undiagnosed condition. So, for this, you should consider visiting your healthcare expert, to rule out any other complications.
FAQs
1. How can I get rid of puffy eyes?
You can use various home remedies like cool compression, tea bags, and undereye creams to reduce swelling under your eyes temporarily. However, for a permanent solution, you can go with fillers, laser resurfacing, chemical peels and lower eyelift surgery.
2. Are puffy eyes a serious complication?
Although undereye bags are caused by lifestyle changes and aging, they are not of clinical significance, but they can occur because of any underlying medical condition. Therefore, you should consult your doctor if puffiness is causing vision loss or irritation.
3. Can lack of sleep lead to puffy eyes?
Yes, lack of sleep is one of the primary causes for swelling under your eyes. Improper sleep cycle can often lead to fluid accumulation and result in puffy eyes.
4. Why do I have puffy eyes every time I wake up in the morning?
Periorbital puffiness in the morning is because of fluid retention during sleep, allergies, excessive use of mobile phones at night or lack of sleep. So, proper sleeping pattern and managing allergies can help solve this problem.
5. Will massage help get rid of puffy eyes?
Gently massaging your undereye areas with a ring finger in a light circular motion can help reduce the swelled-up skin and improve circulation.