Dark, Puffy Eyes - 39 yo male page

[brettstark]

Hi All - For quite a while now (5yrs+ from my noticing, maybe more). I've had dark, puffy under eyes.
I'm a 39 yo male.

My diet has been typically western but have just started eating a lot more primal in 2013. Really, I have not had to make too many changes other than eliminating breads/grains apart from the odd cheat!

Any ideas on dark/puffy eyes and experiences how to improve/fix? I have read it's allergies. My sister in law (doc of chinese medicine) says it's an indication of liver/kidney issues.

My main 'cheat' in primal is about 1 cup of milk per day with protein powder in the morning for breakfast. I really can't do powder in water. Should i try though to get rid of dairy completely? Any other ideas?

thanks!
Brett

[tiva]

It's often just genetics. Sorry! Everyone in my family has the most amazingly puffy eyes with enormous bags underneath. I look at photos of my great-grandparents and there they are: the family heritage in the best of eye bags. Oh well. Allergies can certainly make them more prominent, as I found out when I suddenly became allergic to my dog sleeping in the room at night (so I take benedryl nightly--it may not be primal, but that's life).

[Issabeau]

My family has it, too. My mother has very teary eyes and bags and a underdeveloped maxilla bone. She also has breathing problems through her nose and has been taking a prescription nasal spray for the last 50-some years. (Yes, 50+ years of nasal sprays).
My Dad snores like a champ and has developed really bad eyebags in his mid-30's...he is now 70 and his glasses hide the enormous luggage.

I always had small bags and dark circles, and everybody blamed my partying night-life and not enough sleep for it, but at age 23 I moved to the US.
Things got worse, eyebags bigger, burning, red and hot and I could barely open up my nasal cavity with 3 different prescription meds. I had allergies!
We moved to a rainy state and all of a sudden my allergies went away, together with the bags but the dark circles remained.

We moved again (this time to Idaho) and allergies got worse again. I finally went to a specialist and I was diagnosed with 0 anti-bodies of something...I did not understand the medical terms. Anyways, my allergies went 100% away xept for those that you can't get shots for (like aspergillus).

I then went to an Orthodontist and he mentioned my dark circles within some of his speech to his assistant, and they wrote it all down and took before photos.

So here is my deal:

My mother was born with a cleft palaate and didnt have breast milk. Breast milk carries anti-bodies that supplies the blood of the baby with it so it can live without health problems in the enviroment it genetically evolved.
So therefor my mother had 0 anti-bodies in her milk when we were born. I also was prematurely born, and placed in an incubator for 6 weeks not receiving ANY human milk.
I had no defense for my own enviroment. I moved to an enviroment with high aspergillus (KY) and when that was added to my already non-defensive immune system, things turned from bad to worse.
Moving to WA state where it always rains cleared the aspergillus out of the air and things became better. Also the grasses and pollen don't exist in WA state much because well those plants are scarce.

In Idaho however, little rain with tons of things that bloom and float around (sagebrush) the symptoms got way worse again but different than in KY. In KY I grew mushrooms on my facial skin especially around my chin and mouth, while in Idaho I had a feverlike puffy swollen facial skin.

I also found out that the upper half of my maxilla, espeically the nasal bones did not expand and develop normally and as a result less oxygen was delivered to the body, esp. the head (eyes, brain).
This explains the light headedness Ive had my entire life and the dark circles.

Since the braces (slow expansion) my sinus drains easier, my dark circles are lighter and the puffy eyebags went away with the allergy shots.
I am now the first in my family to have clear, bright eyes with very little baggage.

[Damiana]

It's mostly genetics, you're not going to fix it completely by eating primally, I'm sorry to say. You might see some improvements if you eat better + get more quality sleep but you're mostly SOL

[brettstark]

ouch genetics huh? SOL. double ouch! i can't say i notice it in my family/parents much though. my doc prescribed 30d of some over the counter allergy drug so i might try that and see what happens. He suggested if that didn't work he would do a bunch more allergy testing. I actually do get a pretty decent amount of sleep....7 to 8 hrs most nights. Caffeine and alcohol probably my 2 vices that are probably exceeding primal guidleines...Not sure if that would have any impact. 2013 is trying to reduce both!