Circles under the eyes generally refer to discoloration of the skin below the orbit (eye socket). In principle, only the blood vessels and the blood flowing through them under the skin can be seen. Depending on the composition of the blood, the skin may appear darker than usual.
Cause
The most common causes of dark circles are fatigue, lack of sleep, stress and often they are simply congenital. This means that people are particularly sensitive in the region of the skin and it is here that changes in the body are most noticeable. Another reason may be ageing.
The skin becomes thinner and thinner and the underlying fatty tissue disappears more and more. This can make it look as if older people have dark circles under their eyes, as the blood vessels shine through strongly. However, dark circles can also indicate drug use or heavy alcohol consumption. Furthermore, they are sometimes the result of deficiency symptoms, especially iron deficiency. It should not be forgotten that dark circles can also be a harbinger of conjunctivitis.
Diagnosis
As mentioned in the beginning, the dark circles around the eyes are strongly related to the composition of the blood. If the patient suffers from oxygen deficiency, the blood appears darker and if there is a lot of oxygen in the blood, the dark circles do not shine through the skin as strongly or not at all. The appearance of dark circles is not only related to the oxygen concentration in the blood, but also to the composition of the blood in general.
The dark circles are relatively easy to diagnose, but in some cases it is a little more difficult. If you lead an unhealthy lifestyle or even use drugs and the stress and lack of sleep were too much, then there is a simple way to diagnose the cause of the dark circles. However, deficiency symptoms must be investigated by blood tests. Conjunctivitis is diagnosed by the ophthalmologist.
History
Circles under the eyes appear very early and usually disappear again by themselves, if you can and know the cause yourself. Even if there are deficiency symptoms and these deficiencies are corrected, dark circles disappear very quickly. However, if you use drugs for a long time, dark circles can persist for months.
In most cases, one mainly treats the underlying disease and/or changes one’s lifestyle. There are also various cures and creams that are applied directly to the affected areas. It can also help to apply ice cubes, as this causes the vessels to contract and then the surface area is reduced and the dark circles around the eyes appear less dark. You can also simply cover the dark circles around the eyes.
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