Bags under the eyes of the baby after sleep appear suddenly, cause anxiety in parents if they do not pass within a few hours. Swelling is even more frightening for no reason, when the baby suddenly has circles under his eyes. These circles may be reddish, or may be bluish. In this article, we will find out why babies have bags under their eyes, how scary it is, and how to deal with them.
How does puffiness appear under the eyes?
The eyes are one of the most sensitive and vulnerable organs in the whole body. To protect the eyes from adverse factors, nature came up with a special protective mechanism, which consists of a thin fat layer. In medicine, this layer is called periorbital fiber. This mechanism prevents overdrying of the eyes, and also protects them from any kind of damage.
Fiber is able to increase several times in size when exposed to certain factors. Not only foreign objects and adverse environmental factors cause an increase, but also developing pathologies in the body. Also, periorbital fiber can accumulate moisture in itself, while it begins to protrude strongly forward, pushing the eyelids. With this effect, the so-called bags under the eyes appear. In infants, the causes of these do not differ from those that contribute to the formation of bags in adults.
Also in the eyes there is a connective membrane. She holds fiber. With an increase in the membrane, an increase in the fat layer that protects the eyes can also be provoked. Again, in this situation, bags appear under the eyes of infants and adults.
Do swelling under the eyes prevent the baby?
Puffiness for centuries does not bother babies at all. Swollen fiber does not cause pain and discomfort, the eyelids are also tightly compressed and open easily, the child can easily blink and cover his eyes. But in the case when the bags under the eyes of the baby were formed due to any pathological abnormalities or by microorganisms, then swelling is only a reaction of the body to itching, burning and other unpleasant sensations. Discomfort is felt in the corners of the mucous membrane of the eyelids, as well as under the eyelids. If you notice that the baby is rubbing his eyes, then you should start to worry.
To minimize the possibility of serious complications, you need to identify the causes of puffiness in the baby under the eyes as soon as possible. To do this, you should contact the local pediatrician, and he, in turn, will give a referral for examination.
Bags under the eyes of infants appear regardless of gender. Both girls and boys can equally be the victim of this cosmetic defect.
We offer you to get acquainted with the causes of bags under the eyes of a child. There are a lot of them, and not all testify to pathology.
Foreign object, injury
This is the most common cause of puffiness under the eyes of babies. Children are very curious, and can look in search of "the most interesting" in remote places where dust and small rubbish accumulate. It is a speck that can get into the eye, begins to mechanically affect the mucous membrane, provoking the beginning of the protective work of fiber. Even when the mote is already washed out of the eye with the tears that have appeared, the fiber will remain “on guard” for a long time.
In the same way, a baby can just poke a finger in his eye with a toy. When searching for a foreign object, parents will not find anything and begin to worry about puffiness.
If the cause is minor mechanical damage, then literally after a couple of hours the bags will leave. If this did not happen, you need to show the baby to the doctor, first of all - the ophthalmologist. Could get into the eye is not a very large speck, which is difficult to consider. If a specialist does not find a foreign object, then you will have to visit a pediatrician.
Conjunctivitis and other eye diseases caused by viruses
The second most common cause of eye swelling in infants. Bags under the eyes of a child up to a year and after can occur due to mucosal damage by viruses. The most common among children is conjunctivitis. This disease is very easily transmitted. Even if the baby does not go to kindergarten yet, other children can infect it. It can be brothers and sisters, as well as strangers who visited.
With conjunctivitis, the mucous membrane of the eyelids turns red, and blood vessels also appear on the whites of the eyes. With further development, green-yellow discharge begins to appear from the eyes. After sleep, the child forms a crust around the eyes. With such a disease, puffiness naturally appears.
It is almost impossible to protect the baby from this unpleasant disease if he visits the garden. When hugging, any child can infect him. Common toys are also dangerous. A kid can take an object that an infected child has recently played, and then rub his eyes, the virus is very tenacious and quickly attacks.
If children came to visit you, and even they look healthy, anyway, after they leave, you need to wash the toys in order to minimize the likelihood of infection of the baby.
Allergy
Another fairly common cause of puffiness and eye irritation. If a month-old baby has bags under the eyes, then the probability of a foreign object getting into the mucous membrane is very small. If there are no more children in the house, friends with kids do not come to visit, then, first of all, it is worth considering the home environment. Allergies in a child can begin if something new has been brought into the apartment. It can be a feather pillow, or an ordinary bouquet of flowers.
An allergy to already familiar objects appears unexpectedly for parents. Try to remove indoor plants, at the time of determining the reason to attach pets to somewhere. As soon as plants and pets are temporarily eliminated, you need to rinse everything to get rid of wool and pollen. Literally within 2-3 days the signs of allergy should go away if the cause has been eliminated.
Change all personal care products and household chemicals. In most cases, an allergy in a child arises precisely with what you choke, wash and clean.
An allergy can occur at the beginning of complementary foods or when new cereals, meat, fish, juices, berries, and so on are introduced into the diet. If you begin to give the baby still unfamiliar food, then give not half, but half a teaspoon per day, then during the day, monitor the state of the child.
Unhealthy food
In a one-year-old child, bags under the eyes may appear due to too salty food or other things harmful to him. Salt, when ingested, retains fluid, which causes swelling under the eyes. As a rule, many parents already at the age of one give their children the same soups and main dishes that they themselves eat. Some may even stick a piece of salty bacon in the baby’s hand, as my mother or grandmother taught!
A one-year-old child can already steal food harmful to him from the table on his own. These are chips and other very salty and containing products harmful to any organism. Keep everything away from the baby. When he grows up, he will have time to harm his body, but for now his parents are responsible for it.
Refuse to feed your baby with convenience foods. Of course, in a year it is already possible to give dumplings and meatballs, but only homemade ones, not store ones.
Diseases
Serious pathologies can begin to develop already in infancy in a baby, which, fortunately, are in last place after the appearance of bags under the eyes. It can be:
- high intraocular pressure for the baby;
- inflammatory processes in the genitourinary system;
- hormonal failure;
- disturbances in the work of internal organs: kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system.
But do not worry too much if, for no reason, the baby has swelling under the eyes. After sleep, this is normal. Moreover, if the baby fell asleep later than expected, and woke up too late, or did not sleep. Also, bags under the eyes form if the child is overworked and asleep more than usual.
Often bags under the eyes appear after the baby has cried for a long time. This is especially true for the period of teething. The child eventually gets tired of crying, but tears are released arbitrarily due to the itching, already bearable discomfort.
In any case, to calm down due to the absence of the disease or to make a diagnosis and start early treatment for edema under the eyes of children, you need to consult a doctor.
Drug treatment
Do not self-medicate in any case. only the doctor should prescribe therapy, if any. Many young parents make a mistake by consulting with friends who have children about eliminating puffiness under the eyes. They can advise drops and ointments, or even medicines for oral administration, with the words "It helped us!" Medications can make things worse if they are inappropriate, or if they are all the more unnecessary.
Home recipes
If there is a disease, the doctor will prescribe therapy. If the reason is different, then you can remove the swelling with folk recipes that will not harm the crumbs. Also, these methods can be used with complex therapy - medicines fight the disease, and herbs - with edema!
- Prepare the chamomile broth according to the instructions on the package, moisten the cotton pads and wipe the baby's eyes.
- Potato starch quickly removes swelling: peel and cut potatoes in circles, apply to the baby's eyelids.
- Like potatoes, cucumber juice helps. If the baby does not keep potatoes in their eyes, then grate the cucumber, dip a cotton wool in the juice and wipe the baby's eyes.
- Apply pre-brewed and cooled tea bags.
- Rub small amounts of almond oil once a day into the skin under the eyes.
Conclusion
With the appearance of bags under the eyes of the baby, you should not panic, but leave the process to chance. Early access to a doctor and examination will help to eliminate dangerous diseases or begin treatment in the early stages of development. The sooner therapy begins, the greater the chance of a full recovery without relapse and complications!