[Super Pickle]

Sometimes, my 6 yo and 8 yo have dark circles under their eyes. Does anyone have any idea what this might indicate?

Of course, I've considered that dark circles are usually associated with lack of sleep, but they have been getting 10-11 hours of sleep a night, and sleeping in as late as they want all summer.

One of my friends suggested dehydration--have you ever heard of dark circles meaning dehydration? If so, any tips on getting kids to drink more water?

Might they be missing out on a particular vitamin or mineral?

Thanks!!!!

 

[highlandmum]

For my older dd it is the first sign I get of her having dairy. She is allergic to dairy and whenever she gets some (inadvertantly or via a well-meaning grandparent who 'thought' that cookie was dairy free) she gets dark circles under her eyes......
I don't know if that strikes a cord with you but that is what happens for us!

 

[Super Pickle]

Wow, highlandmom, thank you! I never thought that it might be related to dairy, but ODS is definitely slightly lactose intolerant. In general we don't drink milk but we do sometimes have yogurt (which they love b/c of all the sugar) and cheese. I'll watch that. Thanks.

 

[funkymamajoy]

When my oldest has dark circles, it a sign of allergies. For him, its pollen.

 

[FrannieP]

Dark circles are one of the signs of food intolerances and allergies. They are also attributed to kidney weakness and parasitic infections.
I've never heard of the dehydration link - but given the kidney connection, perhaps it could be.
fp

 

[71newmom]

Yes, I would suspect some sort of allergy or intolerance. The book, "Is this your Child?" by Doris Rapp is a great book that sheds some light on the subject. You'll get information that you wouldn't routinely get from a pedicatrician.

 

[libba]

Allergy shiners - that is what my daughters doc calls them.

 

[pamama]

Our ped thinks dd's (20 months) dark circles are due to anemia. She doesn't have any of the other symptoms of anemia, but does have those dark circles under her eyes. In her case her anemia is due to possible celiac, we're still getting testing run, but she definitely has antibodies to gluten. In ds (8 years old) he gets really dark circles under his eyes when his seasonal allergies are acting up. They have been so bad this year that several times he looked like he had 2 black eyes. He and my 5 year old dd also have dark cirlces when they are tired. I'm getting them both screened for celiac soon, too, though.

 

[mom61508]

Are shiners generally puffy as well?