Dr. Komarovsky about bruises under the eyes of a child

Often parents turn to pediatricians asking why a child has dark circles under their eyes that resemble bruises. If there were no injuries and a blow, the child did not beat his head, then the impressionable mothers immediately regard the appearance of such bruises as an unequivocal sign of some very serious illness. In fact, bruises under the eyes do not always talk about any pathologies. However, they can actually “signal” violations, says the famous pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky.

From time to time, parents of every second baby complain about the appearance of strange circles under their eyes. A bruise is a bruise, and it is very important to understand which bruises should cause concern and be the basis for examination, and which ones are just an individual feature of the appearance of the crumbs.

Both of these cases should not cause any concerns to parents. Such “cosmetic” bruises with time can, by the way, generally pass, as the facial bones of the skull actively grow, change facial features.

The most harmless causes of the appearance of circles under the eyes, according to Komarovsky, are banal overwork and lack of sleep. If parents raise a child without a specific regime, do not insist on compulsory day dream, and also do not regulate the time that the kid spends in front of a TV or computer monitor, the appearance of dark circles is a completely understandable consequence of extreme fatigue.

Such bruises of examination by doctors also do not require. It is enough to adjust the mode of the day, to ensure that the child sleeps at a quiet hour, lays down in the evening on time and fully rests at night. Cartoons and computer games - limit.

Quite often, bruises under the eyes appear in children, in whose intestines parasites have settled. This happens because the worms emit products of their vital activity that are toxic to the baby. At the same time, the level of hemoglobin in the blood decreases in the child.

With an unbalanced diet, irregular meals, and also if the diet of a child has products of low and doubtful quality, the body reacts to this gastronomic chaos with general systemic metabolic disorders. At the same time, circles under the eyes also appear. They can be evidence of a lack of certain vitamins, most often groups AT, vitamin A E, BUT and D, and calcium. To identify these disorders will help blood tests and pediatrician consultation.

If a child has recently suffered a disease, especially viral, the appearance of circles under the eyes should not surprise the parents at all, Komarovsky said. Imperfect childhood immunity is "tired", hemoglobin gone down It is enough to give the child a rest after an illness, not to lead him immediately to kindergarten or school, more often to walk in the fresh air and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables so that such circles under the eyes disappear within a maximum of one week.

At this relatively "easy" reasons end. Begin more serious.

Bruises of a deep blue hue may indicate heart problems. Their appearance is associated with oxygen starvation of the whole organism, which develops against the background of cardiovascular ailments.

Red bruises and reddish circles can be external manifestations of allergies. An inadequate reaction can be caused by absolutely any kind of allergy - food, seasonal, drug, allergies to animal hair, house dust.

Dark circles under the eyes often accompany inflammation and proliferation of palatine tonsils in children, which is popularly called “adenoids”. In this case, nasal breathing is disturbed, sometimes it is completely absent. If the child has been in such a state for quite a long time, not only dark circles under his eyes appear on his face, but also special mimic changes, which are called “adenoid mask” in medicine (mouth half open, chin omitted).

Brown circles - bruises can be a sign of hepatitis, diseases of the liver, thyroid gland. Saturated yellows are sometimes a sign of problems with blood formation processes.

And it is very rare (but this also happens) circles under the eyes appear in case of diseases in the oral cavity - for example, with caries. In this case, you need to trust the pediatric dentist. After successful treatment, the circles will disappear the next day.

In the noodles in the first year of life, dark circles under the eyes can appear due to fatigue, disturbed sleep and wakefulness, as well as due to iron deficiency and essential vitamins (if for some reason they are not enough in breast milk). Babies up to 12 months with such a problem must definitely be shown to a pediatrician in order to get comprehensive answers to all questions.

"Ambulance" for dark circles under the eyes should be called without any hesitation in two cases: if the child has sharply sharpened facial features (eyes sunk) and pronounced bruises appeared, at the same time there were problems with breathing, severe weakness. This may indicate acute heart problems that require early hospitalization and the provision of skilled medical care.

The second case is the appearance of deep bruises under the eyes against vomiting or prolonged diarrhea. In this case, the circles speak of the onset of acute dehydration. Dehydration is deadly for children, especially small ones.

If the kidneys are okay, the pediatrician will refer you to a cardiologist to examine the work of the heart. The doctor will find out if the child has vegetative-vascular dystonia, will measure arterial pressure, if necessary, make an electrocardiogram and ultrasound of the heart and blood vessels.

If the reason remains secret, then the pediatrician is obliged to send the child to an allergist who will conduct allergy tests and find out if the children have allergies to something. Treatment can be assigned to the most different (depending on the true cause). If a worms - then antihelmintic drugs and vitamins, if allergic - antihistamines, if kidney damage - diuretic and antibiotics. Since the circles themselves are not a disease, there is no need to treat them directly. The pathology that caused such a “cosmetic effect” should be healed.

Usually, there are no problems with diagnosing the causes, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. In 70% of cases (and even more), parents' anxieties are false - pathologies are not detected. If for your own peace of mind, mother and grandmother urgently need to take the child to the cabinets of specialists and pass a bunch of tests, then let them do it. According to Yevgeny Komarovsky, no one has become worse from extra examination.

The very same child will be much better if mom and dad reconsider his daily routine, provide a full night's rest (in a room that is well ventilated, where it is not hot and not stuffy) and have finally “torn off” the child from the computer and sent for a walk on Fresh air.

The house should not be a hint of any allergens - Mom should do the cleaning without detergents, especially those containing chlorine. Baby clothes and bedding should be washed only with hypoallergenic baby powders.

Komarovsky advises not to forget about the correct drinking regime.. If the baby consumes little liquid, his metabolism is disturbed, as may be indicated by under-eye circles. The rate of water is calculated by the formula "child's weight x 30".

The causes of bruises under the eyes of a child, see the small video below.