Tired & droopy eyes – What it is and how to remedy it

I was giving a technical presentation to a client some days ago and was pausing to take in what a question he was asking me when suddenly, I realized that I could not keep my eyelids open wide enough to pass as being attentive. I could not help it although I did try to force my eyes open – it was just manners, I thought, until it became apparent I was coming on too fake. It wasn’t as though I did not have enough sleep or anything. My eyes were just…exhausted, much more than my mind actually was. What a patch it put me through really.

Tired and droopy eyes are quite a common occurrence in today’s world, especially with sky rocketing demands and pressures, handling daily routines at the work place as well as at home. Many people like me, who face the idiot box day in day out and pore through stacks of paper work, experience this condition. Although it is not something extremely severe, it should be given due attention as vision might be affected and you could experience blurry or double vision.

So what causes tired eyes? Quite sensibly, the main cause of tired eyes is eye strain and the lack of sleep. Eye strain can be caused by excessive reading in dim light, staring into the computer screen or video monitor for very long hours and etc. Other causes include allergy, exposure to bright light or glare, straining to see in very dim light, dehydration, sinus problems, heredity, hormonal fluctuations, fatigue, conjunctivitis, excessive crying, inadequate supply of oxygen to the cornea and pollution or extremely dirty air.

What are the symptoms of tired eyes? The most significant one would be as I’ve experienced with my client some days back – very heavy eyelids and this can sometimes come with a burning sensation – kind of like the feeling you get after swimming in chlorinated pool without your goggles on. Your eyes might get red, sore and irritated. In worse cases, it might get itchy and watery, with an increased photosensitivity, or sensitivity to bright lights. If tired eyes are not treated and left to prolong, then a heavy sensation in the head, a headache or a sore neck might develop, along with affected vision like blur sights or double visions.

All these symptoms will in the end result in puffy eyes. All the squinting and rubbing will lead to additional stress to the sensitive eye areas, causing crows feet and wrinkles to form. The eye area is after all the most delicate area in your body.

Today, we have some immediate remedies that are quite convenient and can be carried around in your bag or pocket – eye drops that have ingredients like witch hazel extract that can revitalize and soothe tired eyes. This is a temporary measure however and does not completely heal tired eyes.

There are some natural ways to treat tired eyes in the comfort of your home. These steps are so simple anyone could do it. If the skin is particularly sensitive, perform a skin test before trying these home remedies. Simply test the skin by placing a small amount of a questionable ingredient on the wrist or forearm, and if irritation or redness develops, wash the area and consider a different option.

Ancient Remedies Your Grandmother Would Probably Prescribe To You:

1) A Classic Remedy in a Spoon or Two
One of the simplest and easiest ways prescribed to cure tired eyes is by using two cold spoons that have been previously placed into the freezer. Be cautious not to freeze the spoons otherwise you might aggravate the sensitive skin around your eyes. Place the cold spoons under your eyes to reduce the puffiness.

2) Teabags
The traditional method would be to take plain tea bags and soak them before applying them to your eyes. The setback of this is that people with very light or sensitive skin may notice stains around their eyes from the tannin in the tea. One way to prevent this is by using chamomile tea bags which works better since chamomile is not a dark tea and it is a herb well known for its soothing properties. The other choice would be to use jasmine tea bags. If you’re worried tea bags will dehydrate the area around your eyes, you could just dip a cotton ball into a tea solution and place them under your eyes. This works as well.

3) Fruity and Veggie Wonders
Two of the most well-known and effective natural remedies for tired and puffy eyes are strawberries and cucumber slices.

Just place a strawberry straight out of the fridge under your eyes to reduce puffiness and tiredness. A cool strawberry under the eye is one of the most used methods to battle tired eyes.

The cucumber slices are especially great to make exhausted eyes appear bright and radiant because they have high water content. A slice of ice cold cucumber straight from the fridge can work wonders to reduce under eye swelling. All you need to do is cut thick slices of cucumber and place them into the fridge. When they are nice and cold, just find a place to relax, lie down and unwind with a slice of cold cucumber over each eye for about 10-15 minutes or until the cucumber becomes warm.

Besides that, an Italian veggie called the zucchini can also be used to reduce puffiness. You could mix cucumber or zucchini with fresh wet ginger root, and this works even better. Dice the vegetables into pieces and mix with the fresh ginger, lightly mash the two ingredients together with a fork and place the mashed mixture on your eyes for up to five minutes and then sit back and marvel at the results!

Using any veggies like cucumber and zucchini on your eyes will work better if the treatment is slightly cooled, but not ice cold. The coldness will help with the puffiness much the same way an ice pack helps with swelling. Placing the veggies in the fridge before slicing them and using them while still cold helps.

4) Water
Another effective and free method to cure tired eyes would be to wash frequently with cold water. This refreshes the eyes and certainly will help you relax while removing any kind of tiredness.

5) Milk
You could also use cotton balls dipped in cold milk and place it over your eyelids. This also helps remove all the puffiness. Milk also has a slight lightening effect that works wonders on dark eye circles.

6) Lavender oil
Similarly, you could soak cotton balls with water added with a few drops of lavender oil and place them over your eyelids. Lavender oils are famous for their soothing, relaxing and anti-stress properties.