About Junko Expertise I can answer most questions pertaining to teen health, thought I cannot give medical advice. I can explain medical terminology, describe medical conditions and hopefully help people understand what is going on with their bodies. If I don`t know an answer to a question, being a medical student, I can easily find out the answer since I have many resources I can refer to.
Question Hello, I'm in pretty good shape -- I'm a very healthy vegetarian who eats seafood (no other meat), I exercise regularly at the gym and play squash about 5 times/week, I have a healthy body weight, I do not drink or smoke, and I'm 19 years old. I've been pretty tired lately though and so all week I've been sleeping between 10 and 12 hours per night. This morning though I woke up with weird dark reddish circles under my eyes and I'm still exhausted. These circles are strange because I've never had them before and I got plenty of sleep. They almost look like I have two black eyes but the would-be bruises are red. Do you have any clue what this might be? I'm not asking for a diagnosis as much as something I could ask about when I go to get checked out (if it is something that seems to be worth checking out). Thank you.
Answer Hi Suzanne,
There are a couple of possible causes for the dark circles under your eyes. You could be suffering from nutritional deficiencies due to your diet. Iron deficiency would be a particularly likely cause. You could also be allergic to something that you're eating or anything else around you. Have you added something new to your diet recently? I definitely think you should go see your doctor to find out exactly what is going on.
