Eye Puffiness

WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

* Puffiness persists for a week or more.

* Your eyes are also red or painful.

What Your Symptom Is Telling You

You board the early-bird flight to the coast looking like you're carrying the bulk of your baggage under your eyes. It may look gruesome, but it merely means that body fluids have pooled overnight in the eye area, according to Mary Stefanyszyn, M.D., associate surgeon in ophthalmology at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.

Generally, you can trace early-morning puffiness to your activities of the previous day: You drank fluids at bedtime, ate salty foods, spent all day with your head bent over a garden or stayed up half the night, says Dr. Stefanyszyn. The worst of the swelling subsides a few hours after rising as the fluid is re-absorbed by your body.

You may also have puffy eyes as part of an allergic reaction—from eating strawberries, for example, or from sleeping on feather pillows. Hormonal changes during menstruation can puff up eyes, too.

A more permanent kind of puffiness can occur from saggy skin caused by normal aging, according to Paul Lazar, M.D., professor of clinical dermatology at Northwestern University in Chicago and author of The Look You Like. The skin around the eyes becomes thinner and less elastic with age, he says. Then underlying fat causes the skin to bulge out.

Roundish pouches or bags rather than puffiness may be a sign of a thyroid condition known as Graves' disease or an indication of a kidney problem.

Symptom Relief

You may be tempted to don sunglasses first thing in the morning as a cover-up, but take heart, there are ways to deflate puffiness.

Start with a bracing splash. A splash of cold water on your face gets the circulation moving, according to Fredric Haberman, M.D., clinical instructor of dermatology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and author of The Doctor's Beauty Hotline.

Tap into relief. Lightly tapping your upper and lower lids helps nudge fluids away from eyes, says Dr. Haberman. With a very light touch, and using fingertips only, gently tap puffy areas on upper and lower lids.

Mask the problem. Refrigerate a gel-filled eye mask and place it over your closed eyes for a few minutes after waking. If you don't have a mask, chilled teaspoons will work, says Dr. Haberman.

Try tea bags. Moisten two tea bags with cold water and rest with them on your closed eyes for 15 minutes. The tannin in the tea may help pull the skin taut and reduce the puffiness. "The main factor is the coolness, which reduces swelling," says Dr. Stefanyszyn.

Take a diuretic. If you're retaining water before your period, an over-the-counter product such as Midol may help reduce eye puffiness, says Dr. Stefanyszyn.

Try an antihistamine. If your puffy eyes are also red, itchy and scratchy, you may be having an allergic reaction. If that's the case, an antihistamine may help shrink the swelling, says Dr. Lazar.

Cover with a concealer. To minimize upper lid puffiness, apply a darker shade of makeup on your upper lid, from just below the brow to the crease. Then stroke a lighter shade on the lid from the crease to the lashes. Puffiness is less noticeable when you highlight the lower portion of the lid, says Dr. Haberman. For under-eye bags, use a slightly darker shade over your regular foundation.

Keeping Bags Away

Here's how to avoid puffiness tomorrow.

Raise the head of the bed. Six-inch wooden blocks placed under the headboard will elevate your head and help keep fluid from pooling around your eyes.

Skip the water at bedtime. Or restrict yourself to a few sips.

Cut out overly salty foods. And if you have Chinese food for dinner, tell the waiter to hold the monosodium glutamate (MSG). "Eating sodium-loaded Chinese food at dinner always gives me puffy eyes the next day," says Dr. Stefanyszyn.

Skip wrinkle removers. An eye cream designed for plumping up wrinkles may be doing its job too well, says Dr. Haberman. These products can backfire and give you bags by puffing up the surrounding eye area.

Switch to gel-type makeup. Water-based makeup and gels are lighter than oil-based and less likely to irritate delicate under-eye skin.

Forgo the feather comforter. If you suspect that you are allergic to feathers—waking up every morning with puffy eyes is a clue—try switching to quilts and pillows filled with synthetic material.