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5 Commonest Causes of Dark Circles Under Your Eyes
Copyright All Rights Reserved 2006
Dr Andrew Fink MD for
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1) Familial tendency to accumulate pigment under the eyes.
Treatment: Camouflage make up.
2) Shadowing. "Bags" or protuberant lower eye lids develop because of a genetic tendency and with age, due to fat moving forward from within the orbit (eye socket). This causes a shadowing of the surrounding area, which when the skin is pulled taught, or depending on the direction of the light, may disappear.
Treatment: Lower lid blepharoplasty-plastic surgery-to improve eye lid shape.
Congenitally very sunken eyes can create a shadowing effect also as the overhanging brow shades the eyes.
Treatment: None
3) Skin of the lower eye lids is very thin, so sometimes the veins carrying deoxygenated (purple/blue ) blood are very prominent through the skin. The skin thins with age, so this can worsen with the passage of time.
Treatment: Camouflage make up.
4) People who suffer from itchy and allergic eye conditions, often rub their eyes intensely, which together with already existing eczema of the eyelid skin, can lead to skin damage below the eye lid. This can cause pigmentation of the skin.
Treatment: Treatment for the allergic condition.
5) General tiredness and ill health.
Although most people think this the commonest cause, it isn't, and it is controversial as a cause at all. Many tired people do not develop black rings under their eyes, and many healthy and vigorous people do. One could speculate that when tired, cold and run down, veins under the skin below your eyes are more prominent because of general pallor of the surrounding skin which is under perfused especially if anaemia is present. Also an element of dehydration may make the eyes more sunken creating a shadow effect.
Treatment: Adequate rest and treatment of any underlying health problem, but of course this will not help if it isn't the cause of the dark circles
