puffy & swollen eyes

hello all -- I have had bouts of a allergic reaction to something-- don't know if it's food or what. It starts with itchy and scaly eyelids and then it leads wrinkles & swelling under my eyes. I also get dry, rough lips with cracking at the ends of my lips. I am just so frustrated b/c I don't know if it is something I am eating or my makeup. I have tried food allergy tests, detox programs, allergy patch testing.  The only thing that has worked to get rid of it is striods which I don't want to always take.  Cool compresses work too.  Just want to find the root cause of it all.  Sound familiar to anyone? Thanks :)

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Two possibilities are there. Firstly,It can be due to vit B deficiency.Take some vitamin B complex for some days and see if your symptoms improve.
Secondly,it can be due to atopic dermatitis or eczema("Atopic" refers to a group of diseases where there is often an inherited tendency to develop other allergic conditions, such as asthma and hay fever). Cheilitis(Inflammation of the skin on and around the lips)is often seen in atopic dermatitis.Diagnosed by bld test like RAST.Treatment is by topical steroids or oral therapy of corticosteroids in severe cases.Topical creams like tacrolimus ointment (Protopic) and pimecrolimus cream (Elidel) are also useful.

If the symptoms persist then pls consult a dermatologist.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Puffyeyes35]

thanks so much for your input. I did stop taking my B6 vitamins for a while so I did just started to take them again. This time the symtoms (symptoms) did not last as long. I also think taking benadryl helped. I have been to a dermatologist and they just told me it was contact dermatitis and gave me Elidel. Wasn't really helpful -- thanks again

[lauraj555]

I had the same kind of thing but the skin on my chin would peel also.  I finally had a patch test done.  I have issues with formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasing agents.  They go by many other names and seem to be found in many face creams, shampoo & conditioners, liquid soaps etc., many of the products I used daily.  For the past 6 weeks I have been removing these products and my face and eyes are 95% better.  It might be worth looking into.  Good luck

[Puffyeyes35]

thanks- I went to my naturopath and she send me for a full blood work up. Hopefully I will get some answers from that. I also have been watching the products I use. There is another ingredient that my dermatologist told me causes allergic reactions - its called Cocamidopropyl betaine