Puffy Eyes: What Causes Them and How to Prevent It

Walk into any chemist or health shop and you will be faced with many so-called cures for all manner of ailments, from rashes and dry skin to sleep problems and sore muscles. But in some cases, natural, home remedies could be just as effective. Take puffy eyes, for example. This is something we all experience from time to time, whether it’s due to late nights on the town, stress from work, or simply feeling a little run down.

This can put a lot of strain on our eyes, often resulting in them becoming red, puffy, and rather unsightly. But as tempting as it might be to head out and purchase a range of expensive creams, lotions, or fancy eye pads, you can often achieve excellent results with products you already have at home.

We’re taking a look at some quick and easy home remedies for puffy eyes. But first, let’s understand what actually causes this common symptom.

What Causes Puffy Eyes?

Puffy eyes are typically caused by an accumulation of fluid in the areas around the eyes. In some cases, puffy eyes may also be accompanied by dark circles around the eyes, or eye redness. Tese symptoms can be associated with a range of things, including:

• A lack of sleep: Sleep is incredibly important for all aspects of our health. When we don’t get enough of it, we might start to notice a range of symptoms, including tired, puffy eyes. Not getting enough sleep can increase fluid and blood retention around the eyes, resulting in puffiness and dark circles.
• Allergies: Exposure to things you are allergic to causes the release of histamines, a chemical that can result in inflammation of the eyelid tissues. Moreover, irritation caused by allergies may lead to you rubbing your eyes more, which can worsen redness and puffiness.
• Drinking too much alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with increased fluid retention, dehydration, and inflammation, all of which can affect eye health. Moreover, alcohol is is often associated with disrupted sleep, which can exacerbate symptoms.
• Consuming too much salt: Salt can also cause the body to hold onto fluid. This can affect different parts of the body, including the eyes, causing them to appear more puffy.
• Poor contact lens care: The discretion of contact lenses have made them a popular alternative to glasses for vision correction. However, when used incorrectly, such as over-wearing or sleeping in your lenses, they can cause irritation, infection, and swollen and puffy eyes.

Addressing these causes of puffy eyes at the source is the best way to prevent this annoying symptom; however, this isn’t always possible or convenient. So, what do should you do the next time you find yourself with swollen eyes?

Ice Cold Spoons

What could be more accessible than a pair of teaspoons from your cutlery drawer? Metal spoons that have been placed in the freezer for a few minutes to chill them down make the perfect massage tools for puffy eyes. The coldness of the metal against the skin helps to constrict blood vessels around the eyes, reducing oedema (swelling) and puffiness.

Try gently pressing the rounded side of the spoons into the skin and moving them from the middle of the face outwards to encourage lymph drainage.

Teabags

Us Brits love a good cup of tea, but instead of throwing that bag away as soon as you’ve finished brewing, they could come in handy for your post-night out self-care routine. Try placing a couple of moist teabags in the fridge to cool before placing over your eyes. Applying them for around 10 minutes can help to soothe swollen and inflamed skin and reduce that pesky puffiness.

Lots of different kinds of teabags can be used for this simple technique, but chamomile tea may offer additional benefits due to the plant’s natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Cotton pads and iced water

This is an even simpler solution than the teabag trick, requiring only cotton pads and a bowl of ice water. Simply submerge the pads in the water until it is fully saturated before squeezing out some of the excess liquid. Them place one pad over each eye for around 10 minutes. If they start to lose their coolness due to your body temperature, simply dip them in the water again and replace them over the eye.

This technique works in a similar way to the cold spoons. The coolness of the pads can constrict blood vessels and help to reduce excess puffiness around your eyes. What could be more simple?

Cucumber mask

This technique might sound like a bit of a cliché, but there is a good reason we are all familiar with images of people with slices of cucumber placed carefully over their eyes. Like chamomile, cucumber has natural anti-inflammatory properties and is rich in antioxidants, vitamin C and folic acid. Not only can cold cucumber slices act as a cold compress, but these ingredients can help to stimulate cell growth and fight off environmental toxins which may be exacerbating puffiness.

Simply place chilled slices of cucumber (around half an inch thick) over the eyes and leave them in place for 15- 30 minutes.

Get more rest

As we noted earlier, lack of sleep is one of the main causes of puffy eyes and dark circles. So, perhaps the most effective way to reduce these symptoms is to improve your sleep routine. We should all be getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Try to avoid using digital devices before bed, improve your sleep hygiene, and try to stick to a sleep routine, going to bed and getting up at the same times every day.

Are you concerned about more than just puffy eyes? If you’re fed up of wearing glasses or contact lenses to correct your vision, it might be time to consider Laser Eye Surgery. Get in touch with one of our friendly clinic coordinators or Book a Consultation today.