Puffyness under one eye

[dra1224]

I have had puffyness under my left eye for months now. I recently started useing contacts again, and that's when I noticed it. So maybe it's been like this for even longer. Especially when I squint you can really see how fat the eye bag is in my left eye when compared to my normal looking right eye.

I have been to two different optometrist's the first one said I have a mild eye lid infection, and to use sterilid, which I have been and has still done nothing for the large eye bag. The second optometrist I went to said the was on my eye lids was a bit dried out, and suggested I use a hot bead mask to melt the wax. Which I have been doing, and still have the eye bag.

Not sure what to do anymore, or what the problem really is. Maybe this larger eye bag just developed and isn't going away? Thus I'll need eye surgery? I did have graves disease when I was a kid but it went away, and every checkup since then has been fine, so I wouldn't think it would be that either..

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Given your description of when it started, after you started with contact lens the chances are 95% it is the contacts. I would suggest you stop wearing contacts for at least a month and see if the problem goes away, if it does then stop the contact wear glasses or have refractive LASIK type surgery. If it doesn't go away see an Eye MD ophthalmologist, it could be Grave's Disease even after all these years.

[dra1224]

Thanks for the information!
I will stop wearing contacts for a while and see if things get any better.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

good plan