Tips from the expert

What helps against severe bags under the eyes?

Bags under the eyes can be very stressful.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/© Alessandro Grandini)

Readers ask, experts answer on the most pressing health issues. Gaby H. (51): I suffer from bags under my eyes, which always make me look tired and ill. Is there any help without surgery?

Dr. Doris Grablowitz, dermatologist and specialist in aesthetic medicine from Vienna: The cause of very pronounced bags under the eyes is an accumulation of fluid in the tissue that is not sufficiently removed by the lymph. This can be age-related or genetic, i.e. inherited.

Sudden, severe swelling under the eyes can also be a sign of an organic problem (kidney dysfunction, thyroid disease, cardiac insufficiency). Only a doctor can determine this after a thorough examination.

There are a large number of other triggers that you can easily eliminate yourself. For example, too little sleep, too much salt in the diet, but also alcohol consumption and smoking can cause puffiness under the eyes. All of these factors are poison for the blood vessels and disrupt the removal of fluid. Avoiding or reducing them can significantly improve the problem.

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In addition, the very thin connective tissue around the eyes loses elasticity with increasing age and this can also cause fluid to build up. For mild puffiness, you can apply special cooling eye creams with a light tapping massage around the eyes or apply cooling compresses (not too cold!). Special lymphatic drainage massages help to remove excess fluid. However, they should only be carried out by specially trained beauticians or lymph therapists.

It is also advisable not to sleep on excessively soft pillows, but rather on a stable bolster. This facilitates lymph drainage and swelling is less likely to form.