WEBVTT - Why Do We Get Bags Under Our Eyes?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hello there,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Christian Seger and this is brain stuff. When I

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<v Speaker 1>was growing up, I had a science teacher named Mr. Thair.

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<v Speaker 1>He had these really deep set eyes with dark circles

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<v Speaker 1>around them and loose, baggy skin underneath. At the time,

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<v Speaker 1>I thought his eyes were really cool, like they made

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<v Speaker 1>him look wise and knowledgeable. And now I'm probably the

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<v Speaker 1>same age Mr Fair was then, and I've got bags

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<v Speaker 1>under my eyes, but they don't seem as cool now.

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<v Speaker 1>They just make me look tired all the time. But

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<v Speaker 1>here's the thing. Sooner or later, all of us are

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<v Speaker 1>going to have them. We all get bags under our eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>So what causes them anyways, and how should we treat them? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>there are lots of possible causes for what scientifically known

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<v Speaker 1>as para orbital hyperchromia, but the most obvious one is aging.

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<v Speaker 1>See we may not like to talk about this in

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<v Speaker 1>certain circles, but we all have fat above, below, and

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<v Speaker 1>behind our eyes for cushioning. This is in case something

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<v Speaker 1>slams into your eye, like say a fist, the fat

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<v Speaker 1>will take most of the blow and save your skull

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<v Speaker 1>from some damage. But as we get older, the septum,

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<v Speaker 1>orbital ligaments in our skin decompose, and all that gooey

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<v Speaker 1>fat pushes down and out, and the skin loosens into swollen,

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<v Speaker 1>puffy bags. And this thin, weak skin exposes the tiny

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<v Speaker 1>blood vessels underneath, making our fat eye bags look darker. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>as we lose volume around our eyes, our orbital bones

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<v Speaker 1>are exposed, creating a kind of depressed gutter revealing our

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<v Speaker 1>eye sockets. If you've already got forward set eyes and

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<v Speaker 1>receding cheekbones, those gutters are going to look even deeper.

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<v Speaker 1>And there are reasons other than aging that contribute to

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<v Speaker 1>these lovely dark fat bags eggs under our eyes. Genetics

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<v Speaker 1>don't help. If your mother or father have eyebags, you

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<v Speaker 1>probably will too. Also, any kind of fluid build up

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<v Speaker 1>around the eyes is going to make the bags worse,

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<v Speaker 1>because fat cells are mainly made of water. Sinus infections

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<v Speaker 1>from allergies, for instance, which I often get, stretch the

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<v Speaker 1>skin under your eyes even more. Also, crying right before bed,

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<v Speaker 1>which I often do, has the same effect. When you

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<v Speaker 1>get bags under your eyes from fluid retention like this,

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<v Speaker 1>they're most noticeable in the morning. Other causes of water

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<v Speaker 1>retention under your eyes can include salty food and pre

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<v Speaker 1>menstrual hormonal changes. And let's face it, if you're up

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<v Speaker 1>late burning the candle at both ends, that doesn't help either.

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<v Speaker 1>Neither does a lack of exercise. But if you're really

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<v Speaker 1>looking for something else to blame, those dark circles are

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes caused by an excess of melanin pigmentation deposits in

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<v Speaker 1>the skin. So I know you're all out there wondering,

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<v Speaker 1>but chrisin, what's your secret? How do you treat your eyebags? Well?

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, you can always cover them up with makeup,

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<v Speaker 1>or you can turn to your friendly neighborhood doctor for

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<v Speaker 1>needles and scalpels. For instance, dermatologists often inject wrinkle fillers

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<v Speaker 1>with awesome names like Juva, Derm and Wrestle in under

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<v Speaker 1>people's eye muscles to reduce their baggage. Mix that with

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<v Speaker 1>some botox and you'll look years younger. It's only a

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<v Speaker 1>couple thousand dollars every eight months, or you can spend

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<v Speaker 1>big and go under the knife for surgery. The official

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<v Speaker 1>name is blafferoplasty, and how it works is the doctor

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<v Speaker 1>makes a few incisions in your eyelid, melts the fat

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<v Speaker 1>inside of there, and either removes it or repositions it.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes they even add more with fat grafts. Then they

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<v Speaker 1>tuck in the remaining loose skin and use lasers to

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<v Speaker 1>firm it up. Sounds cool, right, And if pigment is

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<v Speaker 1>your problem, they can blast it with intense pulse lights

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<v Speaker 1>to destroy yourselves and smooth out your skin. Okay, so

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you're thinking, now, Christian, I don't want someone to

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<v Speaker 1>stab me in the eyes, or Christian, I'm cool with

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<v Speaker 1>the stabbing and the burning, but that surgery sounds awfully expensive. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>here's a couple home remedies I can share with you.

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<v Speaker 1>If the bags under your eyes are from fluid retention

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<v Speaker 1>rather than aging, you can cool something like a cucumber

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<v Speaker 1>slice or tea bags and place them on your eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>The cold will restrict your blood vessels and reduce the swelling.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people apply a cream made of fish cartilage compounds

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<v Speaker 1>to keep the vessels from expanding in the first place.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also try sleeping with an extra pillow to

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<v Speaker 1>elevate your head so the fluid just drains out of

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<v Speaker 1>your face while you're sleeping, or change the position you're

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<v Speaker 1>sleeping in, like if you have one of those weird

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<v Speaker 1>one droopy eyelids. That's probably because you sleep on your

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<v Speaker 1>side and gravity is taking effect. People put all kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of stuff on their eyelids to reduce swelling, everything from

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<v Speaker 1>vitamins to henroid cream, and some recommend that you quit

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<v Speaker 1>cigarette and put sunscreen around your eyes, because both smoking

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<v Speaker 1>and sunlight can weaken the collagen in your face and

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<v Speaker 1>cause premature fat bag sagging. So here's the deal. We

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<v Speaker 1>may not like the bags under our eyes, but they're

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<v Speaker 1>usually harmless. But if you've got swollen, red, itching, painful eyes,

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<v Speaker 1>you should probably go see a doctor. Check out the

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<v Speaker 1>brainstuff channel on YouTube, and for more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com