How to Reduce Swelling or Puffiness Around Eyes

There are various reasons for puffiness around the eyes and different ways to treat them as well. In this post I’ll cover up the various causes of puffy eyes and how they are treated.

There are various reasons for puffiness around the eyes-

Genetics- if you have genetically puffy/baggy eyes no serum/cream is going to help remove that. Just consult your physician for appropriate measurements.

Fat protrusion- sometimes the fat gets accumulated and causes a bulge in the under eye area. Mostly seen in persons above 50 years of age.

Inflammation/irritation- certain cosmetics/ skincare products have ingredients which lead to inflammation resulting in swelling around the eyes.

Allergies- allergens such as dust, hay fever, certain foods etc can cause swelling around the eyes.

Lymph accumulation- lymph is a fluid that is present in the body. There are multiple lymph nodes in our body as well. It helps in eliminating toxins from the body. When this lymph becomes sluggish it tends to get accumulated in various areas leading to a puffy appearance.

Heat- the under eye area has a much thinner skin than the skin of the face. It contains various vessels as well. Due to heat the vessels become dilated also called as vasodilatation and causes swelling.

Excessive salt intake- sodium leads to water retention in the body. There’s a whole physiology on how sodium tends to retain water in our system, that’s why when we have a high salt diet it gives a puffier look to our face and body the next day.

Alcohol consumption and smoking are other culprits which lead to swelling around the under eye area and are also responsible for skin aging.

Lack of sleep, crying and malnutrition are other reasons which lead to puffiness around the eyes.

Certain medical conditions such as- pink eye or conjunctivitis, thyroid eye disease, blepharitis, ptosis, cellulitis and dermatitis can lead to swelling around the eyes.

Swelling/ puffiness around the eyes can be transient or permanent. Check the symptoms whether you have swelling on your eyes throughout the day or at a specific period of time.

Look out for the new products and food that you are using or consuming in order to find out the cause that might be leading to the condition. Check for any other symptom that your body might be experiencing and report it to your doctor.

What can you do to reduce puffiness around the eyes?

Use cold compress around the under eye area. It will cause vasoconstriction and ultimately leads to reducing the swelling.

Get enough sleep. This will allow your eyes to look less puffy. An uninterrupted 6-8 hours of sleep will help to reduce the appearance of puffy eyes.

Putting cold cucumber slices for 15-20 minutes on your eyes gives a nice hydration as well as cooling effect to the eyes.

You can also use a cold rose quartz roller. This will help in lymph drainage. Try to use the roller cold by keeping it in the fridge. This will act as a cold compress leading to reduction in swelling around the eyes. Rollers also help in proper penetration of the products that you are using on your skin.

Cold green tea bags- apart from giving cold compression they also contain EGCG or Epigallocatechin Gallate which helps in reducing the swelling around the eyes.

Exercise regularly- this will allow movement of the lymph and fluid throughout the body preventing the accumulation around a single area.

Sleep while putting one pillow under your head this will avoid accumulation of fluid in the under eye area.

Avoid alcohol consumption as it leads to fluid retention in the body, making your under eye area look puffy.

Quit smoking- smoking can only worsen things for your body. Not only it makes your eyes look puffy but also it causes free radical damage to your body that leads to an aggravated aging process.

Avoid excessive salt intake- sodium causes a lot of water retention which leads to excessive swelling/ puffiness around eyes as well as face. Try to limit it in your diet.

You can also use a caffeine serum for under eyes. I use "The Ordinary Caffeine Solution" which contains 5% caffeine and EGCG, that gives really effective results by reducing the puffiness around the under eye area.

Drink enough water as dehydration can also lead to swelling around the eyes. Consume at least 8-10 glasses of water every day.

Look for cosmetics/ ingredients that might be causing irritation/ inflammation around the eyes. Eliminating the particular ingredient will keep the problem at bay. Most of the time products that contain fragrance can lead to irritation resulting in inflammation and swelling. 

People suffering with certain allergies must visit their doctor to identify the allergen. Your doctor will also provide an antihistamine drug to reduce the allergic reaction in the body.

If the under eye bags are due to fat protrusion and it is bothering you or your lifestyle consult your doctor for surgical removal of the fat.

Visiting your doctor for a proper consultation in order to identify the cause will help you a lot in getting a proper and early treatment for yourself. Just remember your body will always tell you by giving signs and symptoms that something is wrong. 

Don’t ignore them and seek proper help for the same.

Hope you found this post helpful.

Thank you for reading ❤️