‘Puffy Eyes’ are a common, yet vague complaint. And they are undesirable as they make your eyes look tired and listless.
Common Causes
Puffy eyes are often caused by excessive fluid retention or swelling around the eyes. This can be caused by things as simple as late nights, lack of rest, or excessive crying after watching Korean dramas, to medical problems such as allergies. Hormones also play a part – you may feel that your eyes become more puffy during that time of the month, or during pregnancy. These are temporary, and the puffiness often gets better by themselves.
The other common cause of Puffiness is everyone’s great enemy : AGEING.
With advancing age, the fat which cushions our eye balls start to protrude outwards; giving rise to fat-containing eye-bags. The best solution to this is surgery to remove the excess fat, but in my practice, I have also used fillers successfully to improve the problem for people who opt for a non-surgical alternative.
The Bulging Muscle
I often have many young patients coming to me complaining of the problem. They often lament that the have had puffy eyes all their lives, and that no creams seem to help! In many of these patients, the ‘puffiness’ is actually caused by a bulging muscle under the eyes. This condition, known as a hypertrophic pre-tarsal obicularis muscle, causes the the area under the eye to bunch up, especially when we smile, resulting in a puffy appearance.
The Only Solution : Botox
My patients are quite right when they tell me that no creams seem to work: there are no that creams will reduce muscle size. In fact, the only treatment which works, is Botox. With a few simple injections, we cause Botox to reduce the size of the offending muscle. The results are often very impressive. They last about half a year, but it definitely beats spending hundreds of dollars on creams that do not work!
Not everyone is suitable for the treatment though. It only works if the muscle under your eye is the cause of your puffiness. Consult your doctor and let him/her tell you if Botox may be the answer for your puffy eyes!
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Your article was really helpful. Thank you, such great help to reduce puffy eye. Thanks for giving me these advice. It really works. I am very happy.
Thanks for explaining how puffy eyes can be caused by some muscle problems. I’m interested in looking for a doctor that can administer Botox for puff eyes because I’m quite unsatisfied with how I look like right now. I think that some modifications will have to be done at some point in the future.