Under Eye Bags aren’t necessarily a medical issue that you need to be concerned about, but they are an aesthetic nuisance and one that can detract from your general quality of life if you’re not careful to apply maintenance to your appearance. Below, we cover how to treat your under eye bags.
Knowing the right way to treat these troublesome bags can mean the difference between allowing them to linger on the face, or letting them disappear over time. The latter is usually what patients come seeking out fillers for under-eye bags.
If you’re concerned about your under eye bags, take a look at this guide that can help guide you to the right treatments for eliminating them.
What Are Under eye Bags?
Under eye bags are a very common problem. At their core, these bags are simply an aesthetic issue and not one that can have medical consequences. However, these issues can be persistent to the point that they begin to be distracting and detracting from someone’s day-to-day life.
Eliminating these bags can offer a patient an enormous increase in quality of life and ultimately improve one’s appearance in significant ways. This in itself can give an individual a much happier existence and increase someone’s self-esteem and confidence.
There are many solutions for getting rid of under eye bags, and it’s quite possible that you might be able to remove them without resorting to any serious medical procedures. You should discuss this possibility with your doctor.
What Causes Under Eye Bags?
There are many different possible causes for under eye bags. Understanding your own habits and proclivities can help you to identify which ones might be contributing to your own under eye bags. Some of the following are common sources of under eye bags:
- Lack of sleep: Lack of sleep is perhaps the most common cause of under eye bags. Low-quality sleep has the potential to trigger puffiness and increase the presence of darkness under the eyes.
- Fluid retention: Troubles with fluid retention can also cause the development of under eye bags. Eating excessively salty foods or suffering an allergic reaction can contribute to this.
- Cosmetic Irritation: Certain brands of cosmetics can cause the tissues surrounding the eyes to swell, which in turn can cause the development of under eye bags.
- Heredity: Some individuals are naturally more prone to developing under eye bags due to their genetics.
- Aging: The natural process of aging causes the fat pads in the face to shrink and sink, causing under eye bags to develop.
- Dehydration: Chronic or acute dehydration can cause the skin around the eyes to sag and shrink, which can cause under eye bags to develop.
If you’re finding the presence of under eye bags troubling in your life, then you might find that you would benefit from consulting with a physician to determine what the exact cause of your own might be.
How to Treat Your Under Eye Bags
There are several different methods for treating under eye bags, some of which are able to be performed at home, while others might be found at the hands of a medical professional. If you’re able to rectify your under eye bags by yourself without the need for medical intervention, you might find that it can save you some time and money. Some of the following methods could be of some use:
- Cold compress: Applying a cold compress made of cucumbers or green tea bags is a time-honored folk remedy for reducing the appearance of under eye bags.
- Propping up your pillow: sleeping with your head slightly elevated has the potential to help diminish under eye bags.
- Hydrate: Given that dehydration is one of the primary causes of under eye bags, ensuring that you engage in proper hydration has the potential to absolve you of your under eye bag issues.
- Watch your dieting: Gaining and losing weight rapidly also has the potential to exacerbate under eye bags. Attempting to keep a consistent weight can assist you in your quest to diminish these bags.
- Eye cream: There are certain brands of eye cream that can also help you diminish the presence of under eye bags on your face. In particular, you should attempt to find products that have the following ingredients: Vitamin C, Caffeine, Retinol, and Antioxidants. However, these types of creams should be used sparingly so as not to irritate the skin.
Treatment Options
If the above treatments are unable to resolve your issues with under eye bags, then you may want to consider undertaking medical treatment to fully eliminate them. Your options for medical treatment might include the following treatments:
- Botox injections: Botox injections have the potential to relax the muscles surrounding the eye. In addition, they have the ability to possibly lift the brows, which can help individuals with bulging or drooping upper eyelids.
- Fillers: Dermal fillers can plump up the muscles and hollows that lie beneath the eyes. In addition, they can help to lift the cheeks and create a smooth and continuous curve from the lower parts of the eyelids to the upper parts of the cheeks.
- Laser resurfacing: Laser resurfacing procedures can also tighten skin and improve the overall appearance of your eye area.
- Surgery: Blepharoplasty is another option for individuals who are suffering from consistent under eye bags. In many types of blepharoplasty, plastic surgeons can redistribute fat surrounding the eyes and remove extra skin from this part of the face.
You can determine which of these medical procedures could be of use to you during a consultation with your physician. They will be able to point you in the correct direction.
Preparing for Your Consultation
When you go into the clinic to discuss your personal experience with under eye bags, it pays to come prepared, as that should help you maximize the time you have with your physician. Coming up with some pointed questions can help you discern some information from your doctor and prepare you for whatever treatment they have in mind. Some example questions include:
- Do you think my experience with under eye bags is temporary?
- What do you think might be causing my symptoms?
- What kinds of results can I expect from my treatment?
- Should I expect some follow-up consultations for my treatment?
- Are there any at-home remedies I should try?
- What should I expect in terms of cost for my treatment? Will my insurance cover these expenses?
Questions to Expect
The above are just examples of the kinds of questions that you might ask of your physician. You should brainstorm some questions of your own that might have something to do with your own personal health situation. This will give you a stronger sense of the kind of operation you’re walking into. Some examples of the kinds of questions you can expect include:
- Have your symptoms been continuous or simply on occasion?
- Have you noticed anything that makes your under eye bags worse?
- When did you first notice your under eye bags develop?
- Have you noticed anything that improves your symptoms?
- Have you noticed anything that makes your symptoms worse?
- Are there any activities that make your symptoms better?
- Are there any activities that seem to make your symptoms worse?
- How often do you smoke and drink alcohol?
- Do you have any serious medical conditions?
- Do you have bleeding disorders or blood clots?
These kinds of questions are designed to help your physician hone in on the exact source of your under eye bags. This, in turn, will help the two of you create the right treatment plan for your particular case.
Choose the Right Physician
The eyes and the surrounding areas of the face are considered very delicate, and it’s important to find a consummate professional to address your questions and concerns and, ultimately, your treatment to resolve this issue. Seeking out the services of a specialist who is board-certified can help ensure that you get the kind of treatment that you need to see real results.
Board-certified physicians are vetted by a board of their peers and are qualified to engage in the types of treatments and procedures that can remove your under eye bags and restore your ideal appearance. You should not accept treatment from any individual who is not board-certified.
Blepharoplasty is also quite adept at resolving other issues surrounding the eyes and eyelids, should you have any that have been bothering you. You’ll be able to discuss this with your physician in your consultation. There’s some chance that you might be able to kill two birds with one stone in terms of having multiple issues rectified at the same time.
The Top Eyelid Surgeon of Los Angeles
Dr. Christopher Zoumalan and the rest of his team are some of the most well-regarded eyelid care professionals in Southern California. If you’re interested in discussing some non-surgical cosmetic procedures you might want regarding under eye bags, contact Dr. Zoumalan today to set up an appointment.