Bruising under eyes from tight swimming goggles?

[buni1961]

hello -

I wore a new pair of swim goggles with suction to prevent leaking I'd estimate about 25-30 times this summer, 20-40 minutes per swim.  I am a long distance swimmer, female, age 447.  I noticed at the end of August I was developing these marked "troughs" under my eyes and I stopped using the goggles.  I also would have reddish discoloration/ bruising under the eyes after I removed the goggles which seemed to dissipate within a couple of hours.

I now have deep dark circles with discoloration under my eyes that is marked. I was sick for a couple of weeks with a cold/post nasal drip in October which may have made this worse.  Anyway, it has been two months since I stopped using the goggles.  I am very very worried about these awful looking troughs.  

A friend asked me three weeks ago if I had a black eye and someone else remarked I looked "very tired".

I'm very concerned that I have done permanent damage to the skin under my eyes by wearing these suction type goggles with the resultant pressure and and I'm wondering if you have ever seen this problem.  Is there anything I can do?   What is the prognosis and is it possible I have done permanent damage?

[Davey500]

Hi folks, I'm 31 and have been swimming for 25 yrs - wearing goggles almost every week. Yes googles can cause or exaserbate under-eye dark circles. These circles go away-no lasting damage. I had some googles that made this noticeably worse. So even though they worked well I had to switch. I've found that the smaller eye socket type goggles are worse (swedish style). I've found that the Speedo graded seal foam goggles work well for me - GCG. The trick is to try different types and find which fit your face well and create a seal with the least amount of pressure = least bruising. Goggles that press again firmer areas of your face and not the soft tissues adjacent to your eye accomplish this but are a very individualized fit. There are goggles that rest completely out of the eye socket (not nearly as streamlined) such as the vista goggles mentioned above. Dark circles can be caused by aging and lack of sleep/tiredness. Excessive swimming can lead to tiredness :) so make sure you get enough after a good workout. My wife discovered a miracle eye cream called Eyewish by Karavita which works well in the other instance. Hope this helps and happy swimming.

[landho]

I've been swimming with goggles for two decades, and now at 44 find that the rings around my eyes just don't seem to go away, either. Ugh!  I'll try swimming with no goggles but as a contact lens wearer that's kind of annoying because of the chlorine residue.  Swimming has such huge mental and physical benefits, just wish the goggles problem would go away!

[buni1961]

Original Poster here.  I stopped swimming for several months and it did seem to help my puffy, discolored eyes.  No one asked me if I had black eyes anymore.   But I started up again this past summer and I used the AquaSphere Seal XP mask for Ladies.  It does leave some marks against the cheeks and sometimes it pressed too much against the bridge of my nose and leaves a mark but these usually go away.  It's not nearly as bad as the marks I got with goggles.  You can find this mask on line in certain colors for $19.99.  There is also the Vista mask which is superior (and I think unisex) but pricier.  The Seal XP also comes in unisex style, and is just a big bigger and wider.

I do still have some "bags" but I attribute them more to genetics and aging.  I doubt the goggles for 20+ years helped but there's not a lot I can do about it except wear a mask and try to not worry about vanity so much!

[steveinmiss]

I am age 51, been swimming twice a week for about six years and have always noticed the rings around my eyes after swimming but until recently they have always went away after a few hours. I just noticed in the last week or two that the lower darker ring under my eyes isn't going away at all. So I finally decide to do some research and through Google I read these postings for the first time and find out what is happening.

Thank you all for your stories. I'm sure there's millions of others who have had the same experience. Fortunately, I am a very un-vain male who wears glasses and doesn't have to worry too much about my appearance but I'd like to correct this problem if I can.

When I swim today, I'm going to loosen my Speedo goggles as much as I can but frankly, without suction, they're going to leak which defeats the whole purpose of goggles in the first place.

I'm an occasional scuba diver and I have a great mask at home that I will try swimming with next week, which will stop this other issue from happening but I, like others, don't know how lap swimming will be with my scuba mask but I'll give it a try and report back here.

Finally, it will be interesting to see if these marks go away if I quit using my goggles.

[jlinds3]

Just an option to those who do not want to quit swimming. Speedo makes a strapless stick-on goggle. It uses a medical grade adhesive. You can get them at swimoutlet.com. I haven't tried them myself, but i figured you might want to know about them. Not sure how the adhesive will affect the eye area though.

[khaela]

I am happy to have found this thread! I also am frustrated about puffy circles under my eyes, and have been a long time swimmer. I in my thirties, and have always had a bit of circle under my eye, but it recently has gotten puffier and more tired looking, and less like just a natural feature of my face. I chalk the change to fatigue, getting older, realizing I had some allergies (down, dust, pollens), but also to using swim goggles. Many older family members have similar puffy circles under their eyes, so maybe it is just my fate, but I am determined to try and counteract them.

-I have been using a cream called MyChelle Fresh Eyes, and it seems to help. I always apply it directly after swimming, and it seems to take the puffiness and lines down. They have a website: www.mychelle.com.
-I have also been told that if your liver and kidneys are having any kind of deficiency, it can show up in circles under your eyes. A Chinese doctor who did acupuncture on me, as well as a different naturopath, both told me that they thought my liver was a little bit weak, so that is another avenue I am looking down.
-I decided after my last swim that I am just going to try and swim without goggles. I have used goggles since my earliest days on swimteam at age 7, but I figure if I can count my strokes and swim straight, maybe I can do without them. We'll see. I'll try those Aquasphere masks otherwise.
-I can't imagine myself ever getting plastic surgery or botox, but I was reading about this thing called carboxy, where they inject carbon dioxide under the skin and can potentially reduce dark circles (and other undesireable features, I guess) because it increases circulation in the area or something. I don't know that I would ever try it, but maybe it's an option for people who are talking about considering plastic surgery.
-I also like the positive attitude option that a few people mentioned above. That certainly helps with most things.