The bottom line for bags under eyes

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Updated: January 18, 2011 8:15PM

Q. I have bags under my eyes. Nothing works to remove them, but they are better since I started using Preparation H, a hemorrhoid cream, on them — a tip I read in a men’s health magazine. What do you think?

A. This offbeat anti-wrinkle tip has been around for years, and we haven’t heard of any serious adverse effects, although using a product designed for one end (especially that one) near the other end usually isn’t a good idea.

Preparation H’s main active ingredient, phenylephrine, temporarily constricts blood vessels in the skin. Constriction shrinks hemorrhoids (which are really inflamed, engorged veins) by squeezing some blood and fluid back into circulation.

Something similar happens under your eyes. The skin around the eyes is pretty delicate (not to mention the eye itself) so there’s always a risk of a painful mishap.

And don’t use the cream too often; overdoing blood-vessel constrictors can prompt “rebound congestion.” (Just ask anyone who’s overused a sinus product and developed a code in their node.)

Here’s a safer solution you’re not likely to overdo: Stick a spoon in a glass of ice water for a minute, then place the curved back of the spoon in the hollow of your eye and lightly roll it around. Repeat on the other eye. The cold will bring down the puffiness that accentuates your eye bags, especially in the morning.

The long-term fix is a blepharoplasty, cosmetic surgery to remove the fat pad.

Q. I recently had a weeklong bout of dizziness. I felt the room spinning and was nauseated. My mother-in-law says I may have vertigo. What is it? What can I do to get relief? Could my diabetes be causing it?

A. Yes, you could have vertigo. A spinning room and nausea are classic symptoms.

Vertigo usually isn’t like the lightheadedness from low or high blood sugar that can happen with diabetes, but see your physician to be sure.

Your doc will check your blood pressure and heart function, since problems with either can cause vertigo.

Assuming you check out OK, and your vertigo doesn’t come back, it was probably due to a viral infection — the usual cause.

However, if you continue to have bouts of feeling like you’re on a Tilt-a-Whirl, your doc may refer you to a specialist at a balance and vestibular center.

Vertigo has more causes than Imelda Marcos had shoes, so you’ll likely have several high-tech tests to narrow down the possibilities. Among them: labyrinthitis, an inner-ear inflammation; Meniere’s disease, fluid buildup in your inner ear; or benign positional vertigo, tiny calcium crystals in the inner-ear canals.

Q. Almost every healthy recipe and diet tip I see suggests using canola oil. Does it have a health benefit? Or is its reputation just good marketing?

A. Canola oil is made from the seeds of a plant hybridized in Canada to replace rapeseed oil.

The trouble with rapeseed oil is that if it’s not hydrogenated, it can be high in erucic acid, which is toxic in large amounts.

Canola contains little erucic acid and has the least saturated fat of all vegetable oils. More important, it’s rich in omega-3s and monounsaturated fats, particularly heart-healthy oleic acid. Canola oil boosts good HDL cholesterol and lowers bad LDL — talk about a good fat!

What canola does not do, despite the online rumors: turn into mustard gas, glue blood cells together or make you go blind. That’s nonsense.

To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com.

King Features Syndicate