For your eyes only

MAINLA, Philippines - Eyes have always fascinated me. They’re the facial feature I’m most attracted to, be it smiling, charming, chinito or smoldering eyes that seem to see into my very soul.

As a cosmetic surgeon, I have also come to realize that the delicate area around the eyes is the first part of the face to show early signs of aging.

Dark under-eye circles, eye-bags, crow’s feet, wrinkles, sagging eyelids – all these give out a picture of stress and aging. Even staying up late night can easily cause heavy eye-bags or dark under-eyes. So when the area around the eyes gets starts to wrinkle and darken, it can affect how other people see your entire face.

Luckily, we live in the 21st century where lasers and lights can work their magic. There are effective non-surgical eye treatments to reduce wrinkles and produce younger looking eyes in just minutes. Yes, you can put the sparkle back into your eyes.

Here are some common eye area problems, their causes and cures.

Dark circles

Twenty years ago, when I first began my practice, I used to see dark circles only among people of the Indian race. Nowadays, it’s all too common among teenagers and yuppies. Call centers, smoke-filled clubs and sleeping late are the main culprits for this new phenomenon.

Solution

The best treatment I’ve discovered is from Paris, a solution called tranexamic acid, which is applied through mesotherapy (meso eyes). A good eye cream to be used nightly is Cernor, made of Vitamin K.

The most requested surgical procedure among men is for heavy and sagging upper lids coupled with protruding eye bags. At Belo Medical Group, we always use a CO2 (carbon dioxide) laser to remove redundant skin and fat.

Cutting through skin using a laser results in a bloodless incision, as compared to a scalpel or the conventional knife, which results in bleeding and leads to bruising and swelling. The bloodless and non-invasive laser procedure has less down time and much quicker recovery.

Crow’s feet

Many patients tell me they hesitate to smile because their crow’s feet show, which makes them look older. Botox is used to get rid of these smile lines and open the eyes.

Bumps around the eyes

Syringomas are benign sweat duct cysts, typically found clustered on eyelids. They are skin-colored or yellowish rounded bumps, as described by a medical website.

Milias are commonly found on the skin of people of all ages. According to the medical website, milias are tiny, fluid-filled cysts formed when dead skin does not shed off normally. A singular milium is formed at the base of a hair follicle or sweat gland. This develops after something clogs the ducts leading to the skin surface, such as after an injury, burn or blistering of the skin.

Xanthelasma is a type of skin disorder that usually occurs near the corner of the upper eyelid in the form of yellow-colored patches and elliptical in shape. This can occur in all types of skin and both male and female are prone to this type of disorder.

The above-mentioned skin disorders can all be easily vaporized by a CO2 laser.

American plastic surgeon Alan Burke was right when he said, “Since the eyes are prime real estate on the face, minimal changes around the eyes can make a big difference to your over-all appearance.”

So take the plunge and get rid of those bothersome eye bags. The procedure using CO2 laser is done under local anesthesia and only takes thirty minutes to an hour. There are no bandages or stitches required. Botox and meso-therapy only take 10 minutes.

Eyes, eyes baby!

In the meantime, here are some steps you can take to prevent aging around the eyes:

1) Even on cloudy days, always wear sunglasses with Polaroid lenses. The sunglasses should be big enough, a la “Jackie O,” to cover even the areas around the eyes

2) Avoid irritants and rubbing the eyes

3) Always moisturize the eyelid area. Best cream is Elastiderm by Obagi, which should be applied twice daily.

4) When applying any creams around the area, always pat, do not rub. Also, always use the ring finger in order to apply the perfect pressure.

They say that the eyes are the windows to a person’s soul. Our eyes are pretty amazing, because they work from the moment we wake up to the time we close them to go to sleep.

Don’t let your eyes give you away. Don’t take them for granted. It is important to pay extra attention to caring for the eyes. You cannot stop the aging process, but you can deter it so that even as you get older, you can still look better.

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For inquiries, call the Belo Medical Group help desk at 819-BELO (2356) or visit www.belomed.com.