Why do dark circles appear under a child's eyes?

Physiological reasons

If a child has bruises under the eyes, there can be many reasons for their occurrence; let’s look at some.

Features of the structure and thinness of the skin of the eyelids

For example, a child was born this way, and the parents have the same bags under their eyes. Also, if the child is fair-skinned, his thin skin is so close to the vessels that their blue shows through. All this refers to cosmetic defects and can go away with age when facial features change. Parents should not worry; good nutrition and regular vitamin therapy will help this problem disappear.

Fatigue and overwork

It is important for your baby to sleep a lot and move a lot. The lack of just one of these factors leads to the appearance of dark circles under the eyes. At 2 years old, having such circles is unforgivable for parents. If your cute playful boy has been running and jumping all day, then it is not a fact that by the evening he will go to bed on time or earlier. Overexcitement, no rest for daytime sleep, uncontrolled time spent watching TV or sitting at the computer, excessive stress lead to chronic lack of sleep and fatigue, which is reflected on the face. Babies, both 3 and 7 years old, need daytime sleep. You just need to organize proper rest, walks in the fresh air and limit access to TV.

Parasites

The most common cause of the formation of brown circles under the eyes in children is the presence of worms. Helminths poison the child’s intestines with the products of their vital activity and prevent the child from fully digesting food. The baby suffers from abdominal pain, abnormal bowel movements, and lack of appetite. Sometimes the hemoglobin level drops.

If caring parents are attentive to their child, then it is not difficult for them to recognize the symptoms of invasion.

With timely treatment, circles under the eyes will quickly disappear. At the age of 5, children learn to be independent, for example, by caring for pets, so regular prevention of helminthic infections is necessary.

Prolonged hunger

It happens that a child refuses to eat for some reason. It could be:

• intoxication due to poisoning or viral disease;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• metabolic disorders;
• anorexia due to a neuropsychiatric disorder.

With prolonged fasting, the body begins to dehydrate, which leads to the formation of severe bruises under the eyes. Lack of water is associated with a decrease in the movement of red blood cells, tissues do not receive oxygen, and in a child - blueness under the eyes due to venous stagnation. The skin becomes thinner, sags, and blood vessels become very visible. And another reason for dark circles is the accumulation of metabolites and toxins due to slow blood supply. With such symptoms, consultation with a doctor is required.

Poor nutrition

With our chaotic and fast-paced lifestyle, feeding children correctly is extremely problematic. They are very demanding and picky about food. It’s not often that you see a 6-year-old child crunching on carrots; they mostly crunch on chips and crackers. The abundance of fast food and other fast food blurs the priorities of healthy and wholesome food.

Due to busy school schedules, schoolchildren do not have enough time to eat on time, so sweets are always a priority. Of course, the body reacts to this by the appearance of bruises around the eyes, because the functioning of the stomach is disrupted due to insufficient intake of B vitamins and others.

Organize proper nutrition for your child, teaching him to choose between pizza and soda - vegetables and fruits. This is available to children starting from 4 years old. If problems persist, consult your pediatrician.

The initial period of a cold

You can always see when a child is sick by his eyes. There may not yet be a fever, but the circles under the eyes clearly indicate the diagnosis. If it is a viral infection, then it must be treated strictly according to the doctor’s recommendation. After treatment, the lack of hemoglobin and weakened immunity is easily compensated by rest, walks in the fresh air, delicious food with enough fruits and vegetables. If bruises do not go away, this may indicate the presence of diseases such as:

• tonsillitis;
• sinusitis;
• adenoids.

Here, consultations with several specialists are possible for properly selected treatment.

Spending long periods of time in front of gadgets and computers

Today, children spend all their free time on computer games and gadgets. And this does not have the best effect on the condition of the eyes and skin. Lack of oxygen, prolonged exposure to stuffy classrooms, and tension in the eye muscles make children's skin thinner and paler. The rhythm of blood vessels slows down, the venous network is strongly visible through the dark shadows around the eyes.

How to limit children's time at the computer and their favorite gadgets? Each parent has their own method of influence. Dr. Komarovsky believes that up to the age of two, it is better for a child to play with his parents than with gadgets.

Bad habits

Bad habits that negatively affect the formation of the motor system and the growth of the main organs of children are:

• sedentary lifestyle,
• incorrect position of the arms and back,
• unbalanced diet,
• insufficient rest,
• long stay in closed and unventilated areas.

Although every second parent complains about the appearance of dark spots around their child’s eyes due to bad habits, as a rule, this does not happen regularly. It is enough to adjust your daily routine and nutrition. If this phenomenon does not go away, then a serious examination is required to identify abnormalities or pathology.

Dark circles under the eyes of a child: reasons for their appearance

A visual sign that often alarms parents is darkening of the baby’s eyelids. It is not always possible to diagnose the cause of their origin, but parents are quite capable of tracking down the “culprit” of such changes on the skin.

Circles under the eyes of a child - genetics

Through genes, ancestors pass on coded individual information to their offspring, thanks to which children resemble their parents. Not only external similarity and talents are passed on “inheritedly”, the baby can inherit chronic pathologies and physiological characteristics. One of the latter is the special structure of the skin in the eye area. If the father or mother has thin skin, and the peripheral vessels and capillaries are physiologically located quite close to the surface of the epidermis, then the born heir in 50% of cases will have pronounced circles around the eyes.

If your family has a distinctive feature in the form of dark skin on the eyelids, and your child has had circles since birth, don’t worry - it’s genetics and therapy is not needed here.

Physiological causes of dark circles under the eyes of a child

Ordinary factors that are often not given importance can become a physiological cause of darkening of the upper and lower eyelids. These “provocateurs” include:

• Overwork is a common cause of dark circles around the eyes. Excessive activity and lack of sleep become the root cause of changes in the color of plasma in the vessels located under the epidermis around the eyes. They are translucent, creating the appearance of dark circles. Normalizing your daily routine and sleep will eliminate this manifestation.
• Air deficiency due to staying in a stuffy room. Plasma stagnation in capillaries with a lack of oxygen makes it darker. The network of blood vessels, visible through the surface layer of the skin of the eyelids, creates a dark shade that differs in color from other parts of the face. Regular ventilation will help solve the problem.
• Constantly being in front of a computer, tablet, or smartphone provokes blood flow to the eyeball due to tension. Massive blood supply causes the appearance of circles under the eyes. Limiting contact with such gadgets to 2-3 hours a day will return the eyelids and eyes to normal.
• Bruise. Mechanical impact from a foreign object or a strong blow are often the main factors leading to uneven cyanosis on the eyelid.

Bruises under the eyes of a child as a sign of illness

It is known that the eyes are the mirror of the soul, but the skin around them is an indicator of health. An experienced doctor is able to make a preliminary diagnosis by examining the mucous membranes of the eyeball and nearby skin tissue. If a child suddenly develops dark circles around the eyes, and the physiological reasons described above are inappropriate, then you need to go to the pediatrician for help. Such a pathological deviation may indicate:

• Anemia. A decrease in hemoglobin in the blood plasma is often the root cause of childhood “bruises.” Additionally, general weakness is observed, and attacks of nausea may be present.
• Endocrine changes leading to vegetative-vascular dystonia. They often appear in adolescents and are accompanied by concomitant symptoms such as nervousness, migraine, and fatigue.
• Helminths. The life process of worms in the children's gastrointestinal tract has a toxic and irritating effect. Also, parasites “eat” their little host, causing vitamin deficiency. The presence of worms is indicated by dark circles under the eyes in combination with pain in the abdomen (navel area). Disorders, nausea, and vomiting are also possible.
• Kidney failure. If the blue color around the child’s eyes is accompanied by swelling, then this is a direct indicator of problems with kidney function.

Pathological causes

To eliminate the appearance of bruises and circles under the eyes, it is necessary to identify the root cause. It can be:

• endocrine system disorders,
• vegetative-vascular dystonia,
• kidney and liver disease.

Endocrine and hormonal disorders

Disturbances in the functioning of the thyroid gland, which can begin from birth, can only be determined after a detailed examination. Parents may be alert to the following signs in their baby:

• increased heart rate;
• frequent headaches;
• weakness and constant fatigue;
• purple circles.

The doctor, having studied the child’s medical history, his heredity, conducting the necessary tests and ultrasound, will be able to determine the exact cause of the disease.

Vegetovascular dystonia

When the blue under the eyes appears brightly on thin skin, it looks like your child has vegetative-vascular dystonia, the most common cause of circles. It is characterized by the following symptoms:

• dry and pale skin;
• dizziness;
• arrhythmia;
• feeling of lack of air;
• weakness.

Dystonia can appear at any age, even in a one-year-old child. Parents should closely monitor the development of their child, get proper rest, carry out restorative procedures and need more air, vitamins, and fruits.

Kidney and liver diseases

If dark circles under the child’s eyes are combined with swelling of the eyelids and swelling of the legs and arms, then parents should be wary and undergo examination to detect problems with the kidneys. If there are problems with the genitourinary system, brown circles appear under the eyes. Signs of diseases:

• temperature;
• pain in the lumbar region;
• problems with urination.

A yellowish tint under the eyes is characteristic of liver disorders, and in order to prevent the development of complications, accurate and timely diagnosis is important. Watch out for these symptoms:

• nausea, vomiting with bile;
• bitterness in the mouth;
• dark urine;
• poor appetite;
• yellowness of the skin.

When should you call an ambulance if your child has dark circles under his eyes?

There are two cases when you cannot do without an ambulance if dark circles appear under the eyes:

1. Prolonged vomiting and diarrhea resulted in deep bruising around the eyes. This indicates dehydration , which can be fatal for very young children.
2. Dark circles in combination with the following symptoms: sunken eyes, difficulty breathing, fainting may indicate heart failure , which requires prompt medical attention.

About bruises under the eyes of a baby

Bruises under the eyes in infants and children under one year old appear for various reasons. And the main one is a violation of sleep and eating patterns. If the mother's diet is unbalanced, then during breastfeeding a deficiency of iron and vitamins necessary for growth begins, anemia and vitamin deficiency develop.

Sometimes a bruise under the eye for no reason signals subcutaneous hemorrhage due to injury to the bridge of the nose. A small baby with such indications requires the supervision of a pediatrician. Timely and regular examination by specialists will help eliminate all doubts about the development of pathologies of internal organs.

What can yellow, red, purple, gray and black circles under a child’s eyes tell about?

The appearance of different colors under the eyes of a child often indicates a hemodynamic disorder in the body. The “color scheme” of such changes can indicate the presence of a specific problem. Let's consider what pathologies are indicated by the shade of the epidermis around the eyes.

Dangerous reasons

Call an ambulance immediately if:

• the child's eyes sunken, blue circles appeared, and his face became drawn;
• he suddenly turned pale and became weak;
• There were chest pains and breathing problems.

The combination of these reasons indicates an acute problem of the cardiovascular system. And only urgent hospitalization can solve this problem.

Another dangerous reason that is worth paying attention to is if, against the background of vomiting or persistent diarrhea, the child develops deep dark circles around the eyes. This is a sign of incipient dehydration. For the youngest children this can be deadly and there is no need to doubt it, there is only one solution, only to the hospital.

Why do teenagers have dark circles under their eyes?

The active lifestyle of teenagers, playing sports, riding bicycles, rollerblading, often leads to various types of injuries, especially around the eyes. It cannot be ignored; there may be complications. It is important to see a doctor right away.

Probably every mother knows how in the morning the traces of a night's vigil at the computer are clearly visible on her face. Excessive physical and emotional stress, the desire to do everything, to try everything, is imprinted in deep circles for a long time. Helping a teenager find the right rhythm of life and protect him from stress and worries is the duty of every loving parent.