Dark circles in the eye area do not always indicate the presence of a disease. Most often they occur due to overwork and lack of sleep. Sometimes such a symptom indicates the presence of pathology. In any case, dark circles look unsightly, which is why many people try to get rid of them. How to do it?
The skin around the eye sockets is the thinnest. Various changes in the body associated with illness, as well as simple fatigue and lack of sleep, can appear on the face in the form of dark circles around the eyes. Men often do not pay attention to this, and girls try to hide this symptom with the help of cosmetics. In most cases, dark circles under the eyes are not dangerous. However, this sign is included in the symptoms of many diseases. Let's find out when dark circles appear around the eyes, the reasons for their occurrence in women, men, children and ways to combat this disease.
Dark circles around the eyes in women: causes and associated symptoms
What causes dark circles around the eyes in women? The reasons for this may vary. Regardless of the factors that provoke this symptom, any girl will want to get rid of it.
It looks unaesthetic and makes a person tired and exhausted. Of course, the easiest way to hide bruises is with makeup. However, their constant appearance should cause concern in a person. Let's find out when you need to worry about eye circles and when you don't have to.
The most common causes of darkening of the skin on the face in the visual area are:
- Lack of sleep. Blackness under the eyes usually goes away within a day. Due to chronic lack of sleep, the circles will constantly appear.
- Bad habits. We are talking about alcohol and tobacco abuse. Harmful substances in cigarettes and alcohol accelerate the aging process. The skin on the face becomes even thinner and less elastic. Because of this, capillaries and vessels appear through it. Also, ethyl alcohol and nicotine lead to poor blood circulation, which causes bluish skin near the eye sockets.
- Unbalanced diet. We can say that the body, with the help of dark circles, bags under the eyes, and swelling, signals a lack of vitamins and minerals.
- A large load on the organs of vision, due to which more blood flows to them. This causes blood vessels to show through the skin.
- Stress is one of the most common causes of dark circles under the eyes. Due to stress, a person suffers from insomnia, becomes overtired, and eats little. All this is shown on his face.
- Exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Thin, sensitive, susceptible to external influences, the skin on the face is very vulnerable. Ultraviolet radiation can cause pigmentation. This happens especially quickly in old age.
- Dehydration. Lack of water leads to thinning of the skin.
- Injuries that cause blood vessels to rupture.
- Allergy.
All these factors cannot be ignored, but they do not indicate the presence of pathology in the body.
To remove dark circles, you must first balance your diet, properly organize your work and rest schedule, and give up unhealthy habits.
If you get injured, you need to buy a special ointment. Allergy sufferers should avoid contact with the allergen. As for vitamins, which the body lacks, if dark circles constantly appear, you should consume foods containing:
- Zinc. Its deficiency leads to deterioration of metabolism and weakened immunity.
- Vitamin K, which plays a significant role in ensuring normal blood circulation.
- Vitamin A, the lack of which causes premature aging of the skin.
- Vitamin C, which strengthens the walls of blood vessels.
- Vitamin E, which helps fight free radicals that accelerate the aging of the body.
These are the most common factors that cause dark circles around the eyes in women. The causes of this symptom in men can be exactly the same. Why does this problem bother the fair sex more? Dark circles around the eyes in men most often occur due to an unhealthy lifestyle. Girls take their health and appearance more seriously. They are less likely to abuse alcohol and take care of their skin and diet. Therefore, the appearance of circles is a more alarming symptom for them. They cannot explain it by an unhealthy lifestyle and try to find the true causes of the disease. It’s worth talking about them separately.
Brown and yellow-gray circles have appeared under the eyes of men: where to look for the reasons?
Yellow, gray or brown circles under the eyes in men often “signal” that the gallbladder or kidneys require increased attention. And also this color can be caused by problems in the cardiovascular system. A pinkish tint may indicate that the disease is targeting the prostate gland.
If a venous network accompanies brown circles under the eyes in men, the reasons lie in poor circulation. In the future, heart problems may arise and hypertension may be diagnosed. You can often hear complaints that a brown spot remains after a black eye, which was caused by a bruise that caused damage to blood vessels. You should consult a doctor immediately if the darkening does not go away within a few days or if it gets worse.
And yet, you should not immediately panic if brown, grayish circles suddenly appear under the eyes of men. They can be caused by simple overvoltage. Please note that shadows from overwork or excessive physical activity appear late in the evening and disappear without a trace after a night's rest.
If the culprits of brown circles under the eyes in men are strong drinks
When persistent brown circles under the eyes of men are recorded, the reasons may lie in an excessive craving for alcohol or drugs. Why do the lower eyelids suffer? The fact is that alcohol and drugs are poisonous substances for the cells of the body. And if lovers of strong drinks experience bluish or brown circles under the eyes, the reasons are due to hypoxia of tissue structures.
What else is the threat of alcohol to the body, why can brown circles under the eyes become chronic? Under the influence of impaired blood circulation, cholesterol plaques accumulate on the inner walls of the arteries.
Dark circles under the eyes as a symptom of a systemic disease
Dark circles are usually blue or brown in color. However, the skin can take on a variety of shades, depending on the disease:
- Yellow. This color may indicate jaundice, in which the level of bilirubin in the blood increases. If your skin turns yellow, as well as the whites of your eyeballs, you should definitely check your blood for bilirubin levels.
- Blue-red circles often occur with blepharitis and conjunctivitis.
- Brown or yellow-brown are found in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
- White circles are a symptom of the rare disease vitiligo, which is characterized by the disappearance of the melanin pigment.
Circles under the eyes occur with diabetes, anemia, and many ophthalmological diseases. You will not be able to make a diagnosis on your own. If the appearance of dark circles is accompanied by other symptoms, be sure to see a doctor.
Dark circles under the eyes in children
You cannot self-medicate, much less ignore such a symptom if it is observed in children. It cannot be explained by an unhealthy lifestyle, lack of sleep and overwork. Especially when it comes to very young children. If the skin under the eyes is constantly blue, you should urgently show your baby to a pediatrician.
In children, dark circles under the eyes often signal infections, diseases of the digestive system, pathologies of the heart and kidneys, and the presence of parasites in the body.
Do not try to treat your child with folk remedies, because dark circles in children are often not just a cosmetic defect, which is not important in childhood, but a sign of a disease.
Causes of sunken eyes
There are a huge number of reasons for the appearance of sunken eyes. These may include poor environmental conditions and an unhealthy lifestyle, as well as the presence of pathological diseases. The main reasons are considered to be the following.
Overstrain of the visual apparatus
The most common reason that can cause sunken eyes in both adults and children is overstrain of the visual apparatus. Most often this happens when an adult works at a computer for a long time, and in a child due to frequent and prolonged looking at the smartphone display. Eye gymnastics, frequent distractions to distant objects, and palming will help you avoid overexertion.
Uncontrolled use of medications
In the case of prolonged use of medications, the body becomes saturated with the substances they contain. This imbalance of substances disrupts the functioning of organs and can lead to illness.
In the case where sunken eyes have arisen due to long-term use of potent drugs, for example, antibiotics, it is necessary to consult a doctor for advice, and in no case self-medicate, so as not to aggravate this condition.
Disruption of the hormonal system
The hormonal system almost completely regulates the health of the human body. Therefore, any changes in its functioning lead to consequences that affect a person’s appearance, including the eyes. As mentioned above, with hormonal imbalances, the lower eyelids acquire a pink tint. This color indicates that a person has a predisposition or has already developed hypothyroidism, a disease caused by impaired production of sex hormones. This disease can lead to infertility.
If such a symptom (pink eyelids) is detected, it is necessary to contact an endocrinologist and other specialists to examine the organs of the reproductive system and the thyroid gland.
Since hormonal changes occur during human growth, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the child’s eyes in order to track these changes and correct them by consulting a doctor.
Bad habits
Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking are also causes of sunken eyes. Sunken eyes appear due to the fact that, for example, when smoking, a narrowing of blood vessels occurs, as a result of which the vessels become thinner, and the eyeballs fall into the sockets under their own weight. Also, due to the outflow of blood, there is no blood circulation in the peri-ocular areas. As a result, they lose their healthy color and acquire a bluish tint.
This situation can be corrected only after a person completely gets rid of bad habits and begins to lead a healthy lifestyle. As a result, the blood circulation process will be restored, the cyanosis will disappear and the eyeballs will gradually move forward, returning to their previous position.
Diseases of the cardiovascular system
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A person with hypotension has low blood pressure. As a result, the blood circulation process is disrupted and the organs of the visual apparatus do not receive the required amount of nutrients. Also, the elasticity of blood vessels deteriorates, which causes sunken eyes. Serious but short-term heart diseases, such as a heart attack, cause a complete outflow of blood from the vessels, as the circulatory process stops and this also affects the deterioration of the elasticity of the vessels connected to the organs of the visual apparatus, and also leads to sunken eyes. This condition will persist until complete recovery.
If you notice blue circles under the eyes (this is what indicates the presence of heart and vascular diseases), you must contact a cardiologist to prescribe appropriate treatment.
Hypoxia of the body
Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen. This disease can occur in a child at birth. Due to hypoxia, thinning of the skin and narrowing of blood vessels occurs. This is reflected on a person’s face in the form of bluish circles under the eyes, a capillary network around the eyes, and the formation of small wrinkles is not uncommon.
Insufficient oxygen nutrition can be replenished by walking every day in the afternoon or evening. In time they must be more than two hours.
Age-related changes
Changes that occur in the body with age can also cause sunken eyes. This happens because the tissues of the face gradually flow downwards under the force of gravity. Another reason explaining the appearance of the sunken effect is that during aging, bone tissue migrates, dissolves and the eye sockets increase in volume.
In order to move the eyes forward, surgery is the best way to do this. This can be done using blepharoplasty, lipofilling and implants. The most reliable is the implantation of a special material that does not cause a rejection reaction.
Hereditary predisposition
It is not uncommon to see cases where such eyes appear in a child. As a rule, this can be caused either by hypoxia or by genetic characteristics, for example, a child may have a certain outline of the eye sockets, which causes the visual effect of sunken eyes.
To prevent a person from developing sunken eyes, it is advisable for him to lead a healthy lifestyle, not have bad habits, often be in the fresh air, eat well, and periodically visit a doctor to monitor the state of health of his own body.
Ways to eliminate dark circles under the eyes
Methods for eliminating the disease depend on the factors that provoked its appearance. If they are a sign of a disease, then it is necessary to treat it, and not try to hide or eliminate its symptom. Contact your doctor and get examined. Even if no pathology is found, the doctor will prescribe you vitamins.
Dark circles can be disguised with cosmetics. However, it is best to try to prevent their occurrence. When in the open sun, wear sun protection and hats with visors and wide brims.
It is also important to take care of your facial skin and use gels and creams to moisturize your skin. Masks made of clay, vegetables and fruits, and lotions made from decoctions also help. Modern cosmetology offers the following services to help get rid of dark circles under the eyes:
- microcurrent therapy;
- lipofilling - transplantation of one's own adipose tissue under the skin of the face from other parts of the body;
- biorevitalization - injection of hyaluronic acid under the skin;
- massage.
These procedures only help to remove the symptom itself. If dark circles are caused by pathology, you need to go to the hospital.
How to get rid of stains
In order to get rid of dark spots around the eyes, the following conditions must be observed:
- walk in the fresh air more often, lead an active lifestyle,
- get a full night's sleep,
- get rid of bad habits,
- apply refreshing compresses to the skin of the eyelids and eye area,
- eat a balanced diet.
The latter means that you need to eat three times a day, and also include light snacks throughout the day. It is worth giving up junk food, replacing it with fresh vegetables and fruits, fish. The following categories of products are considered harmful:
- flour,
- fatty,
- spicy,
- salty,
- sweet.
What can cause sunken eyes
To establish the causes of sunken eyes, first of all, the patient himself must analyze his habits, lifestyle and behavior in the last period. Sometimes correcting them is enough to get rid of sunken eyes and dark circles. You need to pay attention to the following factors:
- Smoking. When a person inhales nicotine, his blood vessels narrow, his tissues receive insufficient oxygen, and blood circulation is impaired. This leads to the eyes becoming sunken and dark bruises appearing around them.
- Unstable sleep, insufficient rest. A person can feel comfortable even if he sleeps 5-6 hours a day, but at the same time. If sleep occurs in fits and starts, at different times, and this situation continues for a long time, the body responds to this with sunken eyes and pallor, at a minimum.
- Emotional experiences. Stress and nervous shock, especially those accompanied by prolonged crying, depression, and insomnia, also easily become the cause of sunken eyes.
- Overstrain of the optic nerve. Previously, this phenomenon was noted only in those adults who spend a lot of time watching a computer monitor, reading, working with drawings or microscopes, etc. Today, even young children experience enormous stress on the optic nerves while watching TV or playing on the phone.
- Taking certain medications, violating dosages, exceeding the duration of treatment. Antibiotics, antihypertensives, and heart medications tend to accumulate in the body when taken for a long time, which invariably affects a person’s appearance. The patient's face becomes gray, sallow or greenish, the eyes become sunken, and purple or purple circles appear around them.
What else needs to be done in order not to be mistaken about the cause of an unhealthy appearance is to evaluate the color of the skin around the eyes, the whites of the eyes themselves, the condition of the mucous membrane and blood vessels.
The following symptoms and their interpretation will help you make a correct diagnosis:
- yellow circles around sunken eyes, yellowed eye whites indicate toxic poisoning, liver damage, hepatitis C or cirrhosis. This is a very bad, alarming sign;
- purple circles with a brown tint occur with circulatory disorders, pathological changes in blood composition;
- pink spots on the lower eyelid may be a sign of metabolic disorders or hormonal imbalance.
It is worth listening carefully to your feelings. Itching in the eyes, lacrimation, photophobia, sensation of a foreign object under the eyelid, pressure, discomfort - all these symptoms should definitely be discussed at an appointment with an ophthalmologist.
Pathologies of the body as the causes of blue circles
Bruises under the eyes are symptoms of diseases of the following organs:
- Kidneys. We are talking about diseases of infectious and non-infectious origin. In most cases, with kidney pathologies, fluid retention occurs in the body. This immediately manifests itself in blue circles and puffiness under the eyes. These symptoms are also accompanied by:
- impaired urination (infrequent or frequent);
- high blood pressure;
- pain in the lumbar region.
Typically, circles in the eye area in these cases are a morning symptom. But if the disease is chronic, then they can remain on the face throughout the day.
- Liver. Problems with the liver cause increased pigmentation of the skin of the eyelids, a jump in the level of bilirubin in the blood, which is why the circles under the eyes acquire a yellowish tint. If you are worried not only about shadows around the eyes, but also about symptoms such as bitterness in the mouth, pain in the right hypochondrium, disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), you should check your liver and other organs.
- Eyes. Inflammatory ophthalmic diseases - blepharitis, keratitis, conjunctivitis. As a rule, inflammation is characterized by swelling, redness of the eyelids, and blue discoloration of the skin under the eyes.
Other diseases and dark circles under the eyes:
- Diabetes. Circles around the eyes are caused by both elevated blood glucose levels and various diseases that diabetes mellitus leads to - diabetic retinopathy, angiopathy, nephropathy and others.
- Anemia (decreased hemoglobin level). A person constantly experiences weakness and dizziness, which does not go away even after rest. The eyes become sunken, the skin on the face turns pale, shadows appear under the eyes.
- Allergy. It may be accompanied by itching and burning. A person rubs his eyes, causing spots to appear under them.
This is not a complete list. It lists the main diseases whose symptoms include blue circles under the eyes. Their true causes can only be determined by a doctor after examination. Eliminating the underlying ailment will also relieve its symptoms, including shadows around the eyes.