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Children's health

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Original poster

Red circles under eyes?

25 replies

GreenEggsAndSpam · 04/02/2009 21:41

DD tends to have slight red circles under her eyes, but every so often they look really red - like she has put eye shadow underneath them. The circles extend for about an inch under her eyes, and tend to be mainly underneath, less at the sides and the top.They tend to reduce after a night's sleep.

For some reason I think she might have some intolerance to a food that is causing this. Could it be, if so, what could be a likely cause? If not a food thing, any other suggestions?

I picked her up from school today and thought she had been drawing on herself it was so vivid

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Original poster

GreenEggsAndSpam · 04/02/2009 22:02

hopeful bump?

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trixiethepixie · 04/02/2009 22:11

Sounds like an allery. Google 'allergic shiners' for loads of results.

Original poster

GreenEggsAndSpam · 04/02/2009 22:18

Just tried googling allergic shiners (thanks trixiethepixie) - they all talk about dark cirles. DD's circles are red- like you get when you have been crying, but there is no swelling. They are nowhere near dark, but red/pink ...

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AbricotsSecs · 04/02/2009 22:21

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AbricotsSecs · 04/02/2009 22:23

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davidbowiescodpiece · 04/02/2009 22:28

This is interesting- my dd has this too. Hoochie, where do you even start giving up those things?? It sounds very dense but I am not a whizz in the kitchen. She is 4 and pretty unfussy about food.

Original poster

GreenEggsAndSpam · 04/02/2009 22:38

Hmm. That is interesting. DD was lactose intolerant as a baby, and had the same red eye problem then. She was tested for coeliacs (blood test only) but it was inconclusive. She started to gain weight and stop having diarrhoea after months of a lactose free diet and a very strong dose of antibiotics.
She has had food issues in the past, and is very skinny. I am not sure I could exclude dairy and gluten as it would mean no bread, cheese, pasta - eek! I need to get calories into her as it is.
Is there a quick fix - ie a test - that can be easily accessed to identify a cause as I think trying an exclusion diet for her would be a bad idea

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davidbowiescodpiece · 04/02/2009 22:40

Can I just add- would an allergy cause pain when she goes to the loo? At least every week she is crying on the toilet because it is so painful for her to have a poo She has plenty of fibre and we have been to the doctors about it but their advice was just to keep giving more fibre.

AbricotsSecs · 04/02/2009 23:20

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AbricotsSecs · 04/02/2009 23:26

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LadyOfWaffle · 04/02/2009 23:50

Sorry to hijack but my DSs have this - DS1 (2.10) looks tired all the time & DS2 (5m) has started to get red rings under his eyes all the time. Do you know if I would need to cut out dairy etc. for a fully BF baby? It was so bad the other day he looked like he'd been punched in the eye

AbricotsSecs · 05/02/2009 06:46

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AbricotsSecs · 05/02/2009 06:52

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Original poster

GreenEggsAndSpam · 05/02/2009 09:56

Hoochie - because dd was failure to thrive, we saw paeds and dieticians when she was younger. Their advice was always to try to get as many calories into her as possible. Therefore we give her cheese in a lot of things, proper butter, yoghurts. If we cut out dairy, it will really limit what she can eat which is not great as she is so thin as it is. That is why I was wondering if there was a test that could be done, as tinkering with the diet of a thin child who used to be a food refuser is not a good idea for us .
We have friends with multiple allergies, so are used to having pure spread, soyage yoghurts, alpro desserts etc, but dd won't touch them...
Help!

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AbricotsSecs · 05/02/2009 11:15

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Original poster

GreenEggsAndSpam · 05/02/2009 13:01

Thanks Hoochie - I suppose I need to decide which to prioritise - the food not being an issue or trying to sort out the red eyes (and yes, moodiness)...

Would you say dairy was more likely a culprit than gluten?

Is the fact she has never had excema or rarely gets colds likely to suggest she isn't an allergic type

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AbricotsSecs · 05/02/2009 14:53

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AbricotsSecs · 05/02/2009 14:54

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Original poster

GreenEggsAndSpam · 05/02/2009 17:05

Thanks Hoochie - dd's probs started when she was just weeks old and fully breast fed. Up until a couple of years ago, food was a real issue for her, but thankfully she is much better now. However, it was so horrible for so long I am reluctant to upset the apple cart. I do think her food refusal was down to it causing her pain.

I don't think food causes her pain anymore, but I do suspect her body doesn't like certain things. Problem is, not only do I have to keep her calorie intake up, be sensitive to her food issues, but also have to cater for two other children (one of whom is quite fussy). An exclusion diet would be very difficult .

Her eyes look fine today, she has had some dairy but not a lot, and no gluten (she refused her lunch). Maybe I should just try to cut down to see if that helps? It is a start I suppose

Thanks for yur help

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AbricotsSecs · 05/02/2009 21:30

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Jux · 05/02/2009 21:54

My dd gets these a lot at the moment. With her it's down to exhaustion. They go black when she's really bad.

willowlodge · 22/09/2010 10:37

This is interesting, our 7 year old has red marking under her eyes. The intensity of these vairy day to day and with no lodigical explaination. i.e. good nights sleep, fun day, etc.

We also found that on holidays this year this area was very sun sensitive despite SPF30, and also would get worse is she cried.

She also seems to be putting on weight and can be quite moody.
We have had to move schools this year due to an unresolved bullying issue in her previous school and she has took to the new school really well and her mood/happiness has improved greatly.

Our worry is are the systions of the eyes and the weight gain the aftermath of the school problems or can this in some part be related to the alergies discussed above ?

We know now she is so much happier, but concerned that with the weight and the in particular the redness under the eyes we are worried the it looks she is not happy.

Any help / comments greatly appreciated.

PixieOnaLeaf · 22/09/2010 11:48

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jauniya · 14/08/2013 08:29

Hi, if anyone is still reading this, please what did you find out? What was the red caused by? Did anyone conclude it to be allergies? milk? gluten? How did you find out? what was the treatment?

lindsey123 · 06/11/2014 17:39

Red circle under the eyes?. My daughter also has that. About a year ago I decided to give her children's vitamins- the meijer gummies.. 2 a day or every other day.. i notice when I run out about after a good 2 weeks if I have not replenished them that she gets them under her eyes again... I'm solely basing this on a vitamin deficiency. With no expert /doctor knowledge. She looks absolutely terrible this morning!! I'm wondering if I'll get pulled to the side by her teacher it's so bad!

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