Puffiness under your eyes can be the result of several factors; among them: heredity, dermatitis, allergies, or just simple fluid accumulation under your eyes.
Fluids can accumulate if you sleep face down, for instance, or in any other position in which the normal flow around the eye is obstructed or diminished.
You can also get puffy eyes from crying or repeatedly rubbing your eyes.
To reduce your under-eye puffiness, you can try a few strategies:
- Raise the head of your bed when you sleep at night. Raising your head promotes fluid flow.
- Use a cool tap water compress. You can also use chilled cucumber slices, a specially formulated gel mask, or even damp, chilled tea bags.
- Drink plenty of water. Fluid retention, in any part of your body, may indicated that your body has too much salt and not enough water.
What about the ‘cure’ which recommends hemorrhoid cream to be applied under the eye to reduce puffiness? There is no real evidence that this works, and the ingredients in this cream may irritate the delicate skin around the eyes- leaving them irritated, inflamed, dry- and possibly still puffy.
One other good strategy is to gently tap all around your eyes, with just the tips of your fingers. That can help boost sluggish circulation and make you look more well rested.
Look for eye gel masks at great prices in the The Skin Care Smarts Store
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Ouch! You’ve just gotten a splinter. It’s little, sharp, and you can see it, just under the surface of your skin. It hurts when you run your finger over it.
Do you need to go to the hospital, or can you remove this splinter with a little bit of careful do it yourself work?
That depends. Most splinters can be removed at home, with no complications.
If the splinter is very deeply embedded, or if it’s quite large, or if you aren’t able to remove it on your own, you will likely need to see your doctor. Failure to remove a splinter can result in painful skin infections, something no body wants.
So you’re game, you say? Here’s how to remove a splinter:
For splinters you can see and feel, use a needle and tweezers. Be sure to sterilize the needle tip, and the tweezer tips, with rubbing alcohol or an open flame before using them.
Wash the area of the skin with antibacterial soap and water. Don’t soak the skin if the splinter is made of wood- this will cause the splinter to grow and it may break apart under the skin, resulting in many tiny splinters.
Work in a well-lighted area, and use magnifying lenses or a magnifying glass, if you have one available.
Use the tweezers to firmly grasp the splinter, and pull firmly at the same angle at which the splinter embedded itself into the skin.
After removing the splinter, again wash the area with antibacterial soap and water, and cover with an antibiotic ointment.
Watch the site of the splinter for the next few days to make sure it doesn’t get infected.
Also wear protective gloves when you can, and be sure to sand down any wood that your kids might play on, too. There’s nothing like a splinter to ruin a perfectly good day of fun.
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