Puffy eyelids

What is a puffy eyelid?

Since the skin around the eyes are very sensitive and thin, puffy eyelids is a common problem that can happen to both men and women and in children it is a common complaint. They can make a person look old and tired. Puffy eyelids are usually a temporary condition but they can last for days, even for weeks. It can happen in either the upper or lower eyelids or to both of them.

Puffy eyelids Symptoms

The symptoms of puffy eyelids can occur with other symptoms if the cause is an underlying disorder, condition, or disease.

General symptoms

Your eyelids may have a ”marshmallow like appearance”
Excessive skin or bags under your eyes that appears to hand or puff out
Inability to close or open your eyes completely because of the puffiness
Dark circles that is accompanied by sagging skin under your eyes

Puffy eyelids symptoms caused by vision problems

• Bleeding from the eye(s)
• Discharge from the eye(s)
• Having a drooping eyelid
• Pain in the eye
• Dry eyes
• Having an increased sensitivity to light.
• Having an increase in the production of tears leading to watery eyes.
• Bulging or protruding eye(s) called proptosis.
• Itchy, swollen, red eyes, which could be due to allergies or an allergic reaction.
• Pus filled bump or skin sores.
• Problems with your vision like vision loss, blurred vision, or floaters.

Puffy eyelids and other symptoms

• Fatigue
• Having trouble concentrating.
• Fever, pain, and redness, which could be due to an infection.
• Headache
• Having high blood pressure.
• Runny nose and sneezing, which could be due to allergies or an allergic reaction.
• Swelling and facial pain, which could be symptoms of sinusitis.
• Having weight loss that is unexplainable, goiter, intolerance to heat, bulging eyeballs, which could be symptoms of Grave’s disease.

Symptoms that could indicate a condition that is life threatening

• Puffy eyelids after a trauma to the head.
• Your throat feels tight.
• Fever higher than one hundred one degrees Fahrenheit along with tender and red areas.
• Fever, pain, redness along with bulging or protruding eye(s).
• Having a severe headache.
• Tongue is swollen
• Difficult breathing

Puffy eyelids Causes

The most common cause is from crying. The sodium that is in your eyelids causes the skin that surrounds the eyes to swell. It could also be one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism along with other causes like:

• Being dehydrated
• Not getting enough sleep
• Allergies
• Having a hangover
• Having some type of trauma to your eyes.
• The side effects of the makeup you wear.
• Wearing the wrong lenses or glasses.
• Getting older because as you age the muscles that support the tissues around your eyes start to become weaker.
• Heredity
• Certain medical conditions like Graves disease.
• Fat deposits that are used to support your eye can move into the spaces around your eye, especially on the lids.
• Hormones that fluctuate and cause your body to retain fluids.
• Fluid retention throughout your entire body which can be caused by inflammation, fatigue, and illnesses. It could even be pregnancy.
• Certain medications like being allergic to codeine or penicillin.
• Blocked oil glands called a stye.
• Viral or bacterial conjunctivitis.
• Having an infected eyelash follicle called Blepharitis.

Puffy eyelids Treatment

Having puffy eyelids in not a medical condition that is serious so you will usually not need a treatment that is serious but if it is because of an accident or trauma you should see your ophthalmologist. Most of the time puffy eyelids can be treated with eye drops and medications. In children, most of the time puffy eyelids are due to allergies so you should try to find what is causing the allergy and try to prevent the child from coming in contact with it again.

If you wake up in the morning with puffy eyelids you may have slept in the wrong position so you should try to sleep with your head elevated a little from the rest of your body by using a firmer pillow. You also need to make sure that you are getting an adequate amount of sleep each night. You should also reduce your intake of salt to help prevent excessive fluid retention. If you are wearing contacts make sure you disinfect and clean them on a regular basis. Women should also make sure that they are wearing hypoallergenic eye makeup. You can also apply cold compresses to your puffy eyelids. Cucumber is another item you can put on your eyelids to help with the puffiness. When you are out in the sun make sure that you are wearing UV sunglasses to protect your eyes from excessive exposure to the sun.