By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-09-25 16:21:48 | Updated at 2024-09-30 21:30:02
5 days ago
A young woman was shocked to discover the dark circles under her eyes were a sign that something was seriously wrong in her body.
Lauren Garkow, a 25 year old student of medicine from Los Angeles, was told by a dermatologist that her dark circles were a sign that she has allergies.
'He took one look at me and he goes allergies run in your family,' she said online.
When the skin expert asked Lauren if she wanted to know how he knew her family has a history of reactions, he pointed to the 'allergic shiners' under her eyes.
Also known as periorbital hyperpigmentation, the doctor explained that the darkness was caused by congestion to the blood vessels which produces a pigment.
Lauren, who had put the discolouration down to poor sleep, couldn't believe that there could be a medical reason behind the common skin problem.
'You mean I've had dark circles all my life and they could have been avoided,' she said.
She confirmed that allergies such as asthma, hay fever and eczema did indeed run in her family and was surprised to hear there might be some good news.
Lauren Garkow, from the US, couldn't believe it when a dermatologist told her that the dark circles under her eyes were a sign that allergies ran in her family
Lauren was shocked that her dark eye circles were the result of allergies and not just down to poor sleep and exhaustion
'Depending on what type of allergies you have, if we figure out what it is we can get rid of them,' she said quoting the dermatologist.
Lauren told FEMAIL that she was shocked to learn there were other tell-tale signs of allergies hiding in her face.
Dennis Morgan lines, which are skin folds under eyes, and the allergic salute line which runs horizontally across her nose are also indicators of burdened immunity.
Fiona Tuck, Australian aesthetician and nutritional practitioner, spoke to FEMAIL about dark eye circles and said there are are many reasons why they can occur.
Genetics, nutrient deficiencies, autoimmune conditions, celiac disease, dehydration, fatigue and food intolerances can all play a part in darkening the under eye area.
Fiona Tuck, an Aussie nutritionist and aesthetician, said that dark eye circles can usually be corrected if proper medical testing can identify the cause
'Allergies can often be a cause of dark circles. The dark circles look almost bruise-like due to nasal or sinus congestion,' Fiona said.
'Determining the cause of the dark circles is important, if the trigger is removed then the dark circles usually go away or can be dramatically reduced.
'The best way to determine the trigger is to seek professional guidance and ensure any allergy tests are conducted by a qualified medical professional.'
The professional added that a healthy diet, adequate fluid intake and regular exercise were also effective in keeping the skin around the eyes healthy looking.
Thousands of people who suffer from chronic dark circles were surprised to learn the cause might be their immune system, and not just exhaustion or poor sleep.
'This makes so much sense ,' one said.
'Thank you for sharing the information, I'm going to get tested,' another added.
A doctor who specialises in allergies agreed that it was possible to fix the problem.
'Allergist here, the best part of my job is getting rid of those concealer resistant dark circles,' she said.
One person was surprised by the news that dark circles give away an allergy for a very different reason.
'You're telling me this could be how that psychic knew I had asthma?' she said.
An expert's recommendation on how to deal with dark eye circles
- Eat a healthy diet and be aware of food intolerances
- Hydrate adequately
- Get enough exercise
- Get professional medical testing for any underlying conditions such as allergies
