The SM-Clinic cardiologist spoke about the causes of facial swelling in adults

Facial swelling is not only a cosmetic defect; if it appears frequently or is accompanied by redness and pain, it is a sign of quite serious health problems that need to be identified and treated.

ALENA PARETSKAYA
Pathophysiologist, immunologist, member of the St. Petersburg Society of Pathophysiologists ANDREY GRACHEV Leading cardiologist of the SM-Clinic holding, MD, academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences
Facial edema is not a separate disease, but only a reflection of an imbalance between retention and excretion of fluid in the body. But what problems in the body can cause the face to swell and how serious is it?

Why does the face swell in adults?

Swelling on the face can occur at different times of the day - mainly in the morning or late afternoon, or they persist throughout the day, decreasing or increasing.
There are two types of reasons:

physiological (or natural, not associated with diseases), they are usually not pronounced, not very strong, and disappear quickly;
pathological, can be very strong, with changes in facial features, signs of inflammation, and are often quite persistent.

Each type of edema has the most typical causes; they occur mainly in the morning or evening hours, or do not depend in any way on the time of day. These characteristics are important for the doctor so that he can identify the leading causes and determine the tactics of examination and treatment.

Features of symptoms in women

In women, swelling under the eyes occurs more often than in men. Firstly, women's skin is thinner and more delicate, and secondly, there are a number of specific “female” reasons :

Obviously, women cry more often , but swelling does not always occur. However, tears can absorb moisture that comes out with them. At the same time, tears contain substances that irritate the skin. The combination of these factors causes swelling.
used by women often cause ophthalmological diseases and the development of allergic reactions , even if such products are of good quality. Sometimes the development of edema is promoted not by the components themselves that make up cosmetics, but by neglect of hygiene rules. This is the use of other people's accessories and cosmetics, removing makeup with products not intended for this purpose, excessive mechanical impact on the skin in the process of removing shadows and mascara. But the main problem remains allergic reactions. Therefore, before purchasing cosmetics, you need to familiarize yourself with the composition. And if you are sure that you are allergic to specific components present in a certain product, you should refuse to purchase it.
Puffiness may occur under the eyes during the menstrual cycle. Since during this period hormonal changes occur, as a result of which the outflow of fluid may be disrupted.

Swelling can only during pregnancy , especially in the first trimester.

During this period, the concentration of the hormone estrogen increases in the female body, which in large quantities can retain fluid in the body.

This explains swelling in pregnant women not only in the eye area, but also swelling of the limbs.

Is there swelling on the face due to heart disease?

Yes, these questions usually worry women, says cardiologist Andrei Grachev.
They run to see a cardiologist when they can’t put a ring on their finger in the morning because it’s swollen or put on makeup because their face is swollen. The patient wants to look great, regardless of age and health status. And this is commendable. Men, as a rule, do not contact a cardiologist with such questions. The peculiarity of this issue is due to the fact that in patients with cardiovascular diseases, as a rule, swelling on the face appears at the final stage of a complication such as heart failure. First, they appear on the legs (the lowest point in relation to the heart), then fluid accumulates in the abdominal cavity, the liver and spleen enlarge (as a blood depot). And only after the fluid reaches the pleural cavities and the heart sac, swelling may occur on the face or hands.

Swelling on the cheekbones: causes and consequences

Year after year goes by. The first signs of age appear as bags and puffiness under the eyes. After a few more years, a second fold begins to appear in the area of the cheek bones. These are “painting bags” (their second name is “sufa”).

Like bags under the eyes, they have similar unpleasant properties.

Firstly, fatty hernias on the cheekbones greatly spoil the appearance and make the face sad.
Secondly, these formations consist entirely of adipose tissue, so they tend to retain water, increase in size and form malar edema.

We often hear that the cause of swelling on the cheekbones is insufficient self-care. They say, take time for yourself, and miraculous creams, massages and vitamin complexes will remove all the bags under the eyes on the cheekbones in a month, and you will again shine with youth and beauty.

To be fair, it is worth saying that cheekbones are not a disease. This is an anatomical feature of the body: paint bags filled with adipose tissue. However, in youth, the good tone of young skin hides the problem.

With age, the skin becomes drier and thinner, the facial muscles lose their elasticity, the fatty tissue begins to sink down, sag, and... Everything secret becomes clear.

When do they occur most often?

Due to a number of circumstances, adds cardiologist Andrei Grachev, such as the flow of fluid to the upper half of the body in a lying position, changes in the biorhythms of hormone production (more often their active synthesis occurs at night or in the early morning hours), edema syndrome most often manifests itself in the early morning hours .
Morning

If we talk about physiological reasons, morning swelling is usually associated with constant lack of sleep, fasting or strict diets (limiting protein and fats). Sometimes swelling in the morning is caused by the wrong selection of skincare products (face cream, toner or cleanser). Also, morning swelling of the face can be caused by crying or stress in the evening or at night.

Possible swelling of the face in the morning due to an incorrectly selected pillow (it is too high, it provokes a narrowing of the blood vessels in the neck). Another physiological factor is an excess of fried, salty foods or liquids taken in the evening, before bed. In women, facial swelling in the morning can be caused by hormonal fluctuations, PMS or pregnancy. Some women report morning swelling during menopause.

Pathological causes of morning edema are mainly kidney damage. Such swelling is usually soft, mobile, appears on the face after sleep, and the skin acquires a waxy or yellowish tint. The most common causes of facial swelling are:

glomerulonephritis - the acute form of the disease leads to edema, which lasts up to 2-3 weeks, if the process enters the chronic phase, edema is typical for periods of exacerbation of inflammation;
Kidney amyloidosis - edema is typical of the second stage (proteinuria), when protein loss occurs and kidney function gradually deteriorates;
membranous nephropathies - occur after taking certain medications, tumor therapy, acute infectious pathologies. Edema occurs in waves, with sharp or barely noticeable symptoms;
chronic kidney disease (previously called renal failure) - swelling occurs gradually as renal damage progresses;
kidney damage in severe systemic pathologies - edema is typical for nephropathy due to diabetes or systemic lupus erythematosus.

Evening
Sometimes facial swelling becomes noticeable in the evening, especially after an active day. Often this is one of the manifestations of pathologies of the cardiovascular system. Often, swelling of the face is accompanied by severe swelling in the area of the extremities - hands and feet, legs. These swellings are denser, the skin has a lower temperature than on other parts of the body, and such swelling goes away slowly. Often occur against the background of the following pathologies:

amyloidosis of the heart and blood vessels;
cardiomyopathy;
sclerotic heart disease (cardiosclerosis);
certain types of arrhythmia;
constrictive pericarditis;
some heart defects;
arterial hypertension;
cardiac lesions due to rheumatism.

Day
Sometimes facial swelling is most pronounced during the day or its appearance is not clearly related to the time of day. Among the main pathologies that lead to such edema are endocrine disorders - especially a lack of thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism). Facial swelling is especially pronounced with congenital hypothyroidism, in pregnant women or with autoimmune thyroiditis, cytokine-induced thyroiditis.

Rapidly increasing swelling of the face during the day can be a sign of allergies - to food, insect bites, cosmetics, medications and even cold. Sometimes facial swelling occurs during an attack of bronchial asthma due to difficulty breathing and fluid retention in the veins.

Facial swelling is possible in people who smoke and drink alcohol. This is due to the increased work of the lymphatic system to remove toxins from tissues.

Severe swelling of the face during the day is possible with respiratory infections and their complications - sinusitis, tonsillitis, frontal sinusitis. Swelling of the face is possible with a deficiency or excess of vitamins (especially fat-soluble ones).

Causes

There are dozens of pathological and non-pathological reasons for the development of puffiness under the eyes. As a rule, in these cases the symptom occurs simultaneously under the left and right eye.

Harmless reasons

Relatively harmless non-pathological causes include:

sleep disorders (irregular sleep, insomnia, sleeping at different times);
problems with excess weight (in this case, a violation of the water-salt balance develops, and some of the fluid accumulates under the eyes);
exposure to regular long-term stress ;
excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages;
unhealthy diet (abuse of fatty and salty foods in particular);
constant exposure of the skin to sunlight and wind , frequent changes in ambient temperature;
excessive physical activity or, on the contrary, a sedentary lifestyle . In both cases, the balance of fluid in the body is also disturbed and its uneven distribution occurs.

With such problems, eliminating the root cause yourself is usually not difficult, and swelling can be eliminated at home using cosmetics or traditional medicine.

Diseases

Remember! It is worse if the cause of such a violation is pathological conditions and lesions, for which the intervention of specialists cannot be avoided.

Such reasons include:

Problems with venous or lymphatic drainage . In such situations, the outflow pathways of venous blood or lymph are blocked, as a result of which such fluids stagnate in different parts of the body. But such places of congestion under the eyes are especially noticeable, since the skin here is quite thin. Such disorders can occur both in various ophthalmological inflammatory diseases and as a result of unsuccessful cosmetic procedures.
Pathologies of internal organs . Disturbances in circulatory processes are characteristic of diseases of the thyroid gland, kidneys and cardiovascular system.
Ophthalmological diseases accompanied by inflammatory processes. Most often, barley, conjunctivitis, chalazion and furunculosis. In these cases, swelling does not occur due to fluid accumulation, but due to structural changes in the affected tissues.
Diseases of the paranasal sinuses (any type of sinusitis). Swelling in this case is explained by the close location of the pathological areas to the organs of vision. And the swelling itself does not develop in the under-eye area, but spreads from the maxillary sinuses, where it initially appears.

Important! Often the cause of the development of swelling is allergic reactions, with additional symptoms being irritation, redness of the conjunctiva, itching, sneezing, and lacrimation.

Heredity should not be ruled out: some people have a genetic predisposition to puffiness under the eyes.

And this is often observed in newborns, in whom such a disorder can persist in the first few months of life and then disappear.

How to quickly relieve facial swelling in adults

If this is physiological swelling of the face, not associated with serious pathologies that require medical supervision and the use of selected medications, excess fluid can be eliminated through certain simple measures and actions.
Taking a contrast shower or washing with cold/hot water. This method refreshes, increases tissue tone, enhances the outflow of fluid from the skin and reduces swelling.

Using ice – a couple of pieces of ice will help deal with swelling on the face quickly and effectively. In addition, you can prepare herbal decoctions with a tonic effect in advance and freeze them, using them for washing.

Facial massage is an effective remedy that helps improve microcirculation and swelling. Manual massage, the use of rollers, ice cubes, and cold spoons help. Sometimes you can first wipe your face with green tea and apply compresses with it to your face and eye area.

How to remove swelling of the eyelids?

To restore a healthy appearance to your eyelids, you can use the following techniques:

Compresses with chilled green or chamomile tea bags or ice cubes. The ice can be ordinary, or for a more effective effect you can use frozen infusions of herbs: sage, lavender, chamomile, mint, St. John's wort. Place a bag or cube in gauze and apply to problem areas for 10–15 minutes.
Or add chilled teaspoons. Just keep them in a glass of ice water or the refrigerator and you can apply them. This method is good because it does not require much effort and is suitable for home and office.
A light massage in the upper eyelid area using cream and oils will also help.
To remove dark circles, use the following:
Apply chilled cucumber slices and the swelling will subside in 15–20 minutes.
You can also make a gauze compress on the problem area with finely chopped parsley.
A mask made from mashed potatoes or their juice (on cotton pads) will also be useful here.
Massage using oils and creams is quite an effective remedy for the lower eyelid.

In addition, there are products specifically designed to remove puffiness and dark circles under the eyes. For example, a series of CONTOUR products, cream-Veil, HydroMAX serum from.

Painting bags on the cheekbones or sufas on the face.

Paint bags on the cheekbones or sufas on the face - noticeable swelling in the cheekbone area.

Few people have managed to escape age and genetics. Despite regular, high-quality facial care, age-related changes make themselves felt, as do the anatomical features inherent from birth.

Paint bags or sufas can appear even at a young age, but are usually clearly visible on the face from the age of 30-40.

First of all, the appearance of a zygomatic sac is a pathology. Malar edema typically appears as double circles under the eyes, which give the face a tired appearance.

reasons for this , here are the most common ones:

hereditary predisposition;
chronic fatigue;
disordered lifestyle;
kidney and cardiovascular diseases;
alcohol abuse;
smoking;
eating a lot of salt;
drinking plenty of fluids before bed;
consumption of fatty, smoked, over-salted foods;
age-related hormonal changes;
lack of sleep;
decreased immunity and infectious diseases;
hypochondria and depression;
allergic diseases;
inflammation in the maxillary sinuses, throat, nasopharynx;
in children under 2 years of age, sufas may appear during teething or viral infections;

In women, swelling may occur before critical days; also, as a result of age-related changes, the zygomatic tissue droops from the adipose tissue - lip bags . Sometimes the appearance of bags under the eyes is temporary, only during illness or lifestyle changes. Swelling of the eyelids and skin around the eyes often occurs in people who sit in front of a computer monitor for a long time.

How to get rid of suf on your face?

A guaranteed method of getting rid of paint bags is plastic surgery .

Current methods of surgical intervention performed in the patient’s eye area and cheekbones:

blepharoplasty on the lower eyelid. Occurs under local anesthesia, the surgeon removes excess skin and fatty tissue.

Within 3–4 weeks after surgery, the face is completely restored;

check-lifting with endotins . This is one of the most effective facelift technologies. Modeling of the cheekbones is carried out by moving tissues and fixing them in the desired position using special microplates made of biodegradable materials.

Cosmetology procedures:

Contour plastic surgery is the application of fillers of a certain density, made on the basis of hyaluronic acid, into the nasolacrimal groove. This is a fold of skin that runs from the inner corner of the eye to the outer corner, then down.
Lipofilling - the patient’s fat, cleared of impurities, is injected into problem areas and removed from his abdomen or thighs. As a result, cheekbones are raised and bags under the eyes become less noticeable.
Softlifting is a new 3D injection procedure. Injection of dense hyaluronic acid filler to a precisely defined depth, depending on the structure of the patient’s face.
Liposuction – fat deposits in the cheekbone area are reduced, swelling under the eyes is reduced, and fluid accumulation is reduced.
Liporeduction is a low-traumatic procedure aimed at removing excess fat tissue in small volumes in the area of the cheeks, jowls and chin. Injection lipolytic mesotherapy restores microcirculation in tissues, promotes the removal of toxins and effectively combats local deposition of subcutaneous fat. Liporeduction of the jowls and chin can be accompanied by the installation of lifting threads.
Lymphatic drainage – using microcurrent therapy, it stimulates the removal of fluid from the paint bags that causes swelling.
Radio wave lifting is a high-frequency effect on the suf area. The effect is divided into ablative and non-ablative forms. The procedure is suitable for removing pronounced sores and small swellings.
"Diprospan" - this drug must be injected exactly into the fatty sac to avoid tissue atrophy. The procedure is performed only by an experienced cosmetologist or surgeon.
Mesothreads - Introducing polydiaxanone threads under the skin can slightly correct the situation. But this procedure will not give a pronounced effect. It is usually used for preventive purposes to prevent the process from getting worse.
Lipolitics is a method of non-surgical liposuction.

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