Synonym
Halonation of the periorbital eye region English: eye creamsThe term “dark circles under the eyes” refers primarily to dark skin changes and sharply defined shadows under the eyes, the causes of which can be manifold.
How do you get bags under the eyes?
Circles under the eyes appear as shady, dark skin changes under the eyes. In most cases, they are sharply defined, but can also have a diffuse colour transition to normal skin colour. The dark skin colour of dark circles under the eyes is in most cases caused by over-pigmentation of the skin on the one hand or by a shimmering through of the blood vessels in this area on the other hand.
An acceleration of the blood circulation in the skin area under the eyes leads to a particularly high blood flow per minute in this skin section and passes the vessels. The blood vessels in this area are very full and come into closer contact with the overlying skin. From the outside, the circulating blood shimmers through and impresses as a dark coloration of the well supplied with blood skin area.
Other regions around the eye are less well supplied with blood, and so there is a strong demarcation. Apart from the colouring of the skin under the eye due to an increased blood flow, there are several other causes of eye ring formation. One of them is an increase in pigment in the area of the skin under the eye.
This can be congenital or acquired. The cause of congenital over-pigmentation of the skin is largely unknown. A hereditary factor plays a decisive role in this.
In the case of over-pigmentation, more pigments are closer together in a smaller radius than in normally pigmented skin areas. The increasing density causes the skin to become darker. In some cases allergy sufferers suffer from the formation of dark circles under the eyes.
The dark circles are permanent in severe allergy sufferers, while in less severely affected patients the dark circles only appear when there is an allergic reaction. In principle, the formation of dark circles can occur with every allergy. Remarkably often, however, dark circles are connected with the clinical picture of neurodermatitis.
Severely affected neurodermatitis patients have permanent hyperpigmentation, mostly under the skin, which impresses as dark circles. The exact cause of this overpigmentation is not known. Circles under the eyes are not painful and do not affect the patient somatically.
However, the psychological component must be emphasized, as permanently under-pigmented eyes often have a stigmatizing effect and are often considered a blemish of beauty. In addition to allergy sufferers, numerous deficiency symptoms can also lead to dark circles under the eyes. A severe iron deficiency can lead to dark circles around the eyes to a considerable extent.
However, most people who suffer from dark circles regularly or irregularly are more likely to have acute or chronic overexertion as a cause. This can be as much the result of long hours of computer work without breaks as it can be the result of a chronic lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation leads to prolonged stress on the muscles around the eye, which in turn leads to an increased oxygen requirement of these so-called periorbital eye muscles.
The result is an acceleration of the blood transport to these muscles. This leads to the above-mentioned increased blood flow in the periorbital region (skin region around the eye). This increased blood circulation is impressive due to the darkening of the eyes, and fatigue eye circles develop.
This type of reaction occurs in all areas of the body where malnutrition and overuse of the structures under the skin occurs. However, this phenomenon is particularly evident in the eyes, where the skin is particularly thin and the blood can shimmer through particularly clearly. Circles under the eyes almost never require treatment for medical reasons.
In addition, the treatment of dark circles is very difficult. As a rule, the cause of the dark circles should be found and eliminated. In the case of inherited overpigmentation of the skin under the eyes, the treatment options are very limited and are usually reserved for plastic surgery treatments.
Even for chronic allergy sufferers, good treatment of the allergy does not mean that the dark circles disappear. Circles under the eyes resulting from chronic overstrain are easier to treat. In this case, those affected should reduce their workload and take more frequent breaks.
Screen work should be interrupted regularly and the eyes closed for a few minutes to relax the eye muscles. Furthermore, chronic sleep deprivation should be reduced and avoided. If general protection is consistently applied, dark circles under the eyes will disappear very quickly.
There are numerous causes of dark circles. The most common cause is overexertion of the eyes, which results in an increased oxygen demand of the muscles and the skin around the eye. This results in an accelerated transport of blood.
The skin under the eyes is thin, the blood vessels shimmer through just under the skin and are visible from the outside when the rapidly flowing blood is below the surface. A further point is that during overexertion the body tries to get more blood to the overstrained organs, but on the other hand the blood is less oxygenated than in a rested metabolic situation. Blood with a lower oxygen content is always darker than blood that is freshly oxygenated.
Another reason why the skin under the eyes shimmers dark. The dark skin is not sharply defined. The dark appearing skin areas lie ring-shaped under the eye and impress as eye rings.
Another reason for dark circles under the eyes is allergic reactions. To this day one cause is not exactly known why severe allergy sufferers also have to fight with dark circles under the eyes. However, it is noticeable that especially patients with neurodermatitis usually have chronic dark circles under the eyes.
One theory is that the skin under the eyes is particularly thin and therefore also sensitive and is always particularly badly affected by a flare-up of neurodermatitis. Constantly repeating episodes put so much strain on the skin under the eye that it turns darker. Some metabolic diseases can also cause dark circles under the eyes.
This is the so-called cryptopyrroluria. This is a substance that is excreted in the urine during the disease. Besides numerous other symptoms, dark circles are often the first sign of this rather rare disease.
Furthermore, some deficiency symptoms can lead to dark circles if they are not treated. The most common of these is a severe iron deficiency disorder, which can lead to dark circles in a very pronounced stage. A pronounced vitamin C deficiency or zinc deficiency can also manifest itself in the form of dark circles around the eyes.
If dark circles appear for the first time, deficiency symptoms should be excluded and eliminated in addition to the other numerous causes. For diagnosis, a large blood count with the corresponding vitamin and trace element determination is necessary. – Overexertion and
- Too few or too short rest periods.
An iron deficiency can be responsible for the appearance of dark circles under the eyes. This occurs mainly in women. Often, other symptoms, such as cracked fingernails, occur in addition to the dark circles around the eyes.
If the iron deficiency is corrected, the dark circles usually disappear again. Iron can be taken in the form of tablets as a supplement to food. However, sufficient iron for the body’s needs can also usually be taken with food.
In some women or young girls, menstruation can lead to severe iron loss, which requires the intake of iron tablets. Iron is found in animal foods, but also in fruit and vegetables. Pig liver, black pudding and egg yolk are particularly rich in iron. But millet, white beans, oatmeal and peas also contain a lot of iron as vegetable products. Oranges and lemons are also a good source of iron.