What are Eye Bags?

The tissues under the eye has a flat gently tense tone in youth but with the age and other factors muscles tend to sag and a bulge is formed. This is what is known as bags.

In medical terms it is called protrusion blepharochalasis. It mainly forms because of certain factors like the normal ageing, fatigue or being, allergies, swelling, obesity, and certain other medical problems. The eye is surrounded by protecting fat. The facial lid muscles and skin hold this retro-orbital fat in place resulting in a youthful line starting from the lashes to the cheek.

Bags indicate a large intestine problem, or kidney problem. The bags right under, straddling the lower lids are kidney bags and the one below them are large intestine bags. Alcohol, smoking, stress, aging, too much work, or lack of sleep is lifestyle issues. They are not the cause of the problem. These only aggravate the problem.

Formation

The bags are formed from the fat and gentle pressure on this lax muscle, ligament, and skin wall. In some cases there is extra fat behind the support wall creating the baggy lids. Sometimes there is relaxed extra skin causing the bags. Otherwise the lid muscles are just thickened. Upper lid bags can be the result of drooping brows. This can be because of: -

1) Blepharochalasis- Uncommon combination of protruding skin folds of lids, severe thinning of lid skin, recurrent episodes of lid swelling and inflammation.

2) Dermochalasis- Extra skin

3) Hypertrophy of the orbicularis muscle- Eyelid muscle overgrowth

4) Protrusion of intraorbital fat

5) Browptosis- Baggy upper lids from drooping brows

6) Combination of the above problems

Treatment

These bags can be aggravated or improved with room lightning. Point source harsh illumination from above tends to cast shadows accentuating under eye bags. Diffuse lightning softens shadows. Blepharoplasty for removal of the bags depends on the individuals problems. Blepharoplasty sculpture is often a blend of individual elements to address each component of what has caused the baggy lids.