If you have ever felt that you cannot keep your eyes open, your eye lids feel heavy and that you look tired and older than your years, you are probably experiencing the effects of heavy eyelids. In this article we look at some common causes of the problem and reveal some home remedies that can really help the problem.
Table of Contents
What Causes Heavy EyeLids – How Can You Treat Them?
Nothing ages you more than dark circles under you eyes, under eye bags and heavy eye lids.
If you are experiencing heavy eye lids, the case could be one of the following:
- Fatigue
- Genetics
- Getting Older
- Ptosis
- Allergies
- Dry eye
- Blepharitis
- Dermetochalasis
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Looking At These reasons In More Depth:
Fatigue
Being tired is a major reason for heavy eyelids (hooded or droopy eyelids).
Our eyes have a number of muscles that surround them, the ones responsible for holding and controlling the upper eyelids are called the levator muscles.
When we are suffering from fatigue these become tired ( just like any other muscle) after holding our eyes open all day, they can start to relax allowing the eye lids to sag downwards.
Genetics
Things like these do tend to run in families.
If your parents or grandparents had heavy, droopy or hanging eyelids, it’s quite likely that you will have them too.
Getting Older – Hooded Eyes
As we start to age, or skin becomes thinner and less supple.
Years of rubbing and fiddling with our eyes along with exposure to the sun can also make the eyelids stretch.
The skin in our eyelids is very thin and extremely easy to stretch, if it does get stretched, its very unlikely that they will return to their original position.
Ptosis
Ptosis is a condition where your upper eyelid falls to a position much lower than normal. These are sometimes known as hooded eyes.
In some cases this can interfere with your vision.
If this happens the problem is called ptosis or blephroptois.
It can also be caused by neurological problems, muscle disease as well as other more localised eye conditions.
Extreme cases may need surgical intervention, the process being called blepharoplasty
Allergies
Some seasonal allergies such as hay fever can cause the eyes to become swollen and inflamed.
This can give the eye lids a heavy look and feel, causing them to fall and sit much lower than normal
Dry Eye
Sufferers of dry eye do not generally make enough tears to lubricate the eye.
This can make your eyes feel irritated, heavy, sometimes with associated redness and a stinging sensation.
Treatment is usually quite easy with a number of OTC products available.
More serious cases may need prescription strength treatments such as cyclosporine.
There are also surgeries available in extreme cases.
Blepharitis
An inflammation of the eyelid that makes them swell and become heavier. AS such they can drop down to give that heavy lidded look.
Associated symptoms include redness and a crusty looking discharge left on the eye lashes, where they join the eye lid.
Rinsing with a warm compress and eyelid scrubs can be effective, sometimes your doctor may prescribe eye drops too.
Treating Heavy Eyelids At Home
Depending on whats causing your heavy eye lids, there are some great at home remedies that you can try to cure your problem.
If You Have Blepharitis:
Try mixing 2 drops of tea tree oil with 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil and applying the mixture to your eyelids.
Natural doctors recommend this to soother dry skin and also clear dandruff too.
A clinical study on tea tree oil showed that it has both anti bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Another treatment for Blepharitis is black tea.
It too has anti inflammatory and anti bacterial benefits.
Put a black tea bag into boiling water and allow to steep. Let the water cool to luke warm.
Remove the tea bag, squeeze the excess liquid from it and then apply the tea bag to the eye and leave for 10 minutes.
Treating Dry Eye
A home treatments for dry eye involves the use of Omega-3 fatty acids in supplement form.
A study carried out in 2013 highlighted the benefits and effects of taking Omega-3 supplements to treat blepharitis.
Omega-3 is also high available through our diet.
Foods containing it in high levels include:
Oily fish including salmon, mackerel, tuna, herrings and sardines
Nuts and Seeds nicking chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts
Plant oils including soybean oil, flax seed oiled canola oil.
To a lesser degree, eggs also contain Omega-3.
Heavy Eyelids – Conclusion
Heavy eye lids can be caused by a variety of reasons, lifestyle and diet plays a crucial part, but they can be a sign of other underlying problems.
Fortunately most of these can be treated reasonably easily with some simple lifestyle or dietary changes along with some OTC treatments.
There are also some temporary treatments that can reduce their appearance.
If you have a severe problem with heavy eyelids, always best to go and speak to your doctor.
They may be able to prescribe some drug based treatments, or if the problem is severe, refer you to a cosmetic eye surgeon who can discuss your options with you.
