Reader Janine C. writes in today:
Hi!
my 7 month old daughter used to get dark circles under her
eyes when she was tired. now she's waking up with them and
has them all day. rubbing her eyes often, too. it's troubling me.i asked my pediatrician and her reply was 'could be allergies.' so, what
do i do? how can i receive a better diagnosis? we have 4
indoor/outdoor cats. baby411 states early exposure to animals
can be good. could this be seasonal allergies? could this be
a sign of something more serious? thanks for any feedback and
consideration to add a little more on this in the next
edition.best, janine
Janine,
Thanks for writing in. Dark circles under a child's
eyes are relatively uncommon in an infant unless it's
a hereditary thing. However, your pediatrician is
correct that "allergic shiners" can occur due to a
response to allergens--in an infant, that is not
seasonal allergies but environmental ones. The tops on
that list are carpet molds and dust mites. These
indoor allergens occur not matter how clean you keep
your home, but obviously can be more prevalent in
homes with wall to wall carpeting than those with tile
or wood floors.
If your baby is rubbing her eyes AND has those
shiners, it may be wroth talking to your doctor about
ways to limit these allergens in your home (or
discussing it with an allergist). Allergy testing,
other than for food allergies, are not really done in
kids under 4-5 years of age. It's probably not the
pets.
Dr. Brown
author, BABY 411 * TODDLER 411
