Dry Swollen Eye lid

I have had dry skin around my eyes. The skin under my eyes are also puffy and wrinkly, ocassionaly with bags. Once in a while they will become very itchy and red but not often. I went to my doctor and he gave me allergy meds but those only worked for about a week. I never stopped taking them and the problem came right back. I am only 25 and my eyes make me look like an old lady (so wrinkled and bagged). What can I do?

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

These can be very tough cases to figure out.  At some point you need to rule out possible allergic causes and carefully look at anything that could be the culprit.  Then it sometimes takes both an ophthalmologist and a dermatologist to help.  You may need to also  look into improving your nutrition to help your skin and lose weight if needed and control salt intake and avoid smoking and alcohol and get plenty of sleep.  Different types of skin ointments and creams may need to be tried in an effort to find out what helps.

MJK MD