How to treat puffy eyes

How to reduce temporary puffiness

1. 1Remove contact lenses if your eyes or eyelids are swollen. Leave them out until symptoms have settled.
2. 2Place a clean washcloth soaked in cold water over your closed eyes. If using an ice pack or frozen vegetables, wrap them in a towel to protect your skin.
3. 3For puffiness after crying, apply the compress for up to 10 minutes. Remove it sooner if it feels uncomfortable.
4. 4At bedtime, add an extra pillow to raise your head slightly and reduce fluid collecting around your eyes.

Cold spoons, chilled tea bags and refrigerated cucumber slices are other compress options, so the kitchen has a modest second career in eye care. Elevating your head can help with overnight puffiness, which gives the extra pillow a job beyond looking decorative.14

How long does puffiness take to settle?

Crying causes fluid to collect around the eyes. Puffiness can ease within minutes, but it can still be there the next morning, especially after prolonged crying. Time is often the main remedy; cooling and elevation can help reduce the swelling while it settles.3

Should you massage puffy eyes?

Gentle massage after crying can help, but touching the delicate eye area can also irritate it and worsen swelling. If you try it, use light pressure from beside the nose outward. With a face roller, roll lightly outward in one direction rather than back and forth. Avoid rubbing your eyes, especially with allergies.23

What if allergies are causing the swelling?

Eye allergies usually affect both eyes and can cause itching, watering, redness and swollen eyelids. A cold compress can help. Anti allergy eye drops need daily use and can take up to two weeks to work. Lubricating drops can reduce discomfort but do not stop the allergy. Ask a pharmacist about suitable treatment; steroid eye drops require a prescription.2

Do eye creams help?

Some eye creams containing caffeine or retinol can improve the appearance of bags. After crying, stick to a familiar product rather than trying something new on sensitive skin. Avoid hemorrhoid cream around the eyes: it can cause irritation or damage, and some ingredients can interact with medicines. If makeup or eye cream seems to trigger swelling, stop using it for at least a couple of weeks to see whether symptoms improve.13

What helps recurring under eye bags?

Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep and limit salty foods, since salt encourages fluid retention. Persistent bags can also reflect inherited fat pad prominence, bone structure or loose skin rather than temporary swelling. These can be difficult to fully correct without medical treatment.1

An eye specialist can examine your eyes and eyelids and discuss suitable procedures. Eyelid surgery, called blepharoplasty, reduces lower eyelid bagginess and removes excess upper eyelid skin, so persistent bags are not always a vacancy for another jar in the bathroom.5

When should you get medical help?

Get swelling lasting longer than 24 to 48 hours checked by an eye care professional. Contact a healthcare provider for swelling under just one eye. Itchy, flaky or sticky eyelids, or a distinct lump, can need treatment for an eyelid problem rather than cosmetic puffiness.146

Seek urgent care for a red, hot, painful or blistered eyelid, eye pain, vision changes, light sensitivity, sudden drooping, inability to open your eye, or eye symptoms with fever or feeling unwell. Get medical help if you cannot close your eye completely or have breathing difficulty or fainting. Swelling on the eye surface itself can involve the conjunctiva, the tissue lining the eyelids and eye surface, rather than ordinary under eye bags.267