Bags Under Eyes: Causes and Solutions

Bags under eyes
(also called “periorbital puffiness”) should not be confused with dark
circles under eyes. Millions of people can suffer only from one, but not from the other condition. Some
men may
have both challenges, dark bags under eyes, at the same time (see the image on the left side).

What causes bags under eyes?

According to basics of physiology, water travels among different body
compartments while obeying laws of physics following salts and other components
of body fluids. These salts, amino acids and other chemicals generally move
across epithelial layers due to the active transport that requires
oxygen.

Oxygen is provided to cells due to the process that is called “respiration”
(breathing). This graph below explains why humans living many decades ago had bright healthy
eyes
(that you can see in dozens of old movies) and bags under eyes were uncommon.

The
situation with contemporary people is very different. They suffer from chronic
overbreathing and reduced blood flow and reduced O2 content in cells and ionic
pumps that move chemicals. This is the key cause of
bags under eyes.

It is common for many modern men and women have less than 20 s for the DIY body-oxygen test
(see the link below).
Note that the medical norm for this test is about 40-50 seconds, and ordinary people in the past had
over 40 s of oxygen in body cells.

Home remedies for bags under the eyes

Over 200 Russian medical doctors, mainly family physicians, found that the
problem with bags or puffiness around or under eyes naturally disappear, when their patients start to slow
down their automatic breathing patters. The effect often takes place within 1-3
days. Here are the major goals for the total solution of this problem, while
applying the Buteyko breathing method:

1. Increase body oxygenation up to at least 30 seconds 24/7 to boost blood
flow and oxygenation of all body cells naturally.

2. Sleep on a hard surface (e.g., floor with a thin blanket on it) in order
to move more during sleep and have better body circulation and oxygenation. See
Sleep Modules for other tips.

3. Avoid supine sleep (that is the
worst sleep position according to
all 24 clinical studies that compared effects of sleep postures on health).

4. Ground yourself (better for
the whole duration of sleep or for 1-2 hours during the day) to reduce blood
viscosity, improve O2 delivery, and eliminate possible inflammation.

5. Exercise only with nose breathing (in and out) for safety, lower heart
rate and better body O2 after exercise.

6. Avoid drinking water after 6 pm or within 5-6 hours before sleep.

Note for people with kidney disease or nephritis. Certain stages of
these conditions, require water restriction due to reduced kidney function.
Otherwise, they can have extra 2-4 liters of water causing severe headaches and
bags under eyes.

Reference pages: Breathing norms and medical facts:
-
Breathing
norms: Parameters, graph, and description of the normal
breathing pattern
- 6 breathing myths: Myths and superstitions about breathing
and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
- Hyperventilation: Definitions of
hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
- Hyperventilation syndrome: Western scientific evidence about prevalence of chronic hyperventilation in patients with chronic conditions
(37 medical studies)
- Normal minute ventilation: Small and
slow
breathing at rest is enjoyed by healthy subjects (14 studies)
- Hyperventilation prevalence: Present in
over 90% of
normal people (24 medical studies)
- HV and hypoxia:
How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of
all vital organs
- Body-oxygen test:
How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (a simple DIY test)
- Body oxygen in healthy: Results for the body-oxygen test for healthy people (27 medical
studies)
- Body oxygen in sick: Results for the body-oxygen test for sick people (14 medical studies)
- Buteyko
Table of Health Zones: Clinical description and ranges for breathing zones: from the critically ill (severely sick) up to super healthy people
with maximum possible body oxygenation
- Morning hyperventilation: Why people feel
worse and critically ill people are most
likely to die during early morning hours?

References: pages about CO2 effect:
- Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion
(or blood supply) to all vital organs
- The Bohr effect:
How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
- Cell oxygen levels: How alveolar CO2 influences
oxygen transport
- Oxygen transport: O2 transport is controlled by
vasoconstriction-vasodilation and the Bohr effects, both of which rely on CO2
- Free radical generation:
Reactive oxygen species are produced within cells due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia
- Inflammatory response: Chronic inflammation
in fueled by the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces
and eliminates inflammation
- Nerve stabilization: People remain calm due to calmative or
sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
- Muscle relaxation: Relaxation of muscle cells
is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture
and, sometimes, aggression and violence
- Bronchodilation: Dilation of
airways (bronchi and bronchioles) is caused by carbon dioxide, and their constriction
by hypocapnia (low CO2)
- Blood
pH: Regulation of blood pH due to breathing and regulation of other bodily fluids
- CO2: lung damage: Elevated carbon
dioxide prevents lung injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
-
CO2: Topical carbon dioxide can heal skin and tissues
- Synthesis of glutamine
in the brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
- Deep breathing myth:
Ignorant and naive people promote the idea that deep breathing and breathing
more air at rest is beneficial for health
- Breathing control: How is our
breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven, irregular and
erratic?

Or go back to Hyperventilation Symptoms

Bags Under Eyes: Causes and Solutions