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Conditions

Xanthelasma

Xanthelasma

This condition is caused by a collection of yellowish cholesterol deposits underneath the skin around the eyes. Although they are not harmful, their appearance can be upsetting, but removal of this common condition is not without risks. As the affected area is normally very close to the eyes, surgery is risky, and will often leave significant scarring. There is also no guarantee that the Xanthelasma won’t reoccur in the future. Lazer and cryotherapy is another possibility, but also comes with it’s own risks of scarring, so a more common treatment is for sufferers to disguise the condition with make-up. Although this make up must be applied every day, the result can be extremely encouraging. Sufferers should ensure that they are tested for high cholesterol levels, though they can occur without this and often occur in familes.

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I have these too, one on the lower right eye that i've had for about seven years and last year two appeared on the left eye upper and lower. My cholesterol is high 7.2 but the doctor didn"t seem concerned and didn"t prescribe statins. I agree with earlier posts doctors do not take these seriously enough. I wish I had the answer, and the horrible things would go away, I am so concious of them.





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I am 42 and last year I became unwell for six months (periods of not being able to speak/walk at times, urine infections, electricity feeling throughout my body, very bad fatigue etc. The docs did not know what caused this & said it could possibly be viral infection, possibly ms, neurologist said he did not think it was ms but functional symptoms. While I was unwell a pale yellow patch appeared above my eye, which after checking it out on the net, its xanthelasma. At the time I didnt think anything of it. The doc did do bloods which came back with inflammation but said it was nothing to worry about. I am slowly getting on the mend and decided to go to doc about the xanthelasma as it is getting more noticeable, it is not raised, just flat but people are starting to comment on it. Doc said she would check my cholestrol and if it was fine she would send me to dermatology. However, I have since found out both my aunties have the same thing and was wondering if this is a genetic thing and would it mean anything else if it runs in the family. Also someone told me it could be a sign of early artery problems. My auntie had a slight stroke at 40 and I was wondering if this is anything I need to really think about due to the xanthelasma





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i also have had these upper and lower eyes, im on statins which did not reduce the xans.. im currently seeing a dermotolagist and is burning them off with tricholoacetic acid, ive had my 1st treatment and can see a difference. it does hurt a lot and have major brusieing but it is worth it, i need 5 more treatments to compleatly remove them





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I had mine last done by acid five years ago ,it has slowly came back over the five years.I was 25 when it first came up on my eyes.Ive had two treatments,im now 37. i went back to the doctor in nov 2011,he took my blood to test my cholesteriol.it is 4.6.nothing to worry about i was told,so no reason why it coming out onto the skin this way ,as i havent got high cholesteriol.Iam overweight thou. Im going back to the dermatologist in april on the nhs,if nothing comes of this i will try the garlic method.I do cover mine up well with concealer and tinted moisturizer,and where ive had the acid peel before on the nhs it has made it flat.

just to let you know i had high cholesteriol and was put on statins. i thought mine might go once the cholesterol lowered. this is not the case, if anything they have grown quite alot. i am still on statins but hopefully my cholesterol is now low enough to come off them. i do not beleive these are high cholesterol relateed if it was surely they would go. i have tried the garlic i wear mke up which comes off all too soon. i hate them and am now afraid to put anything on them for fear of them growing more. my doctor has no sympathy at all, says plastic surgery, not available on the nhs is my only option.i really wish the doctors would take this more seriously as it is a real problem for all of us.





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hi i had mine removed last june under local anasthetic they are already back , i dont believe they are cholesterol related. As HAVE HAD MINE OVER 10 YEARS, since i had mine i've had 2 tests and both where well under 5 i'm 45, i wish their was a way to get rid as i feel very self concious .

i've tried garlic on mine and mine was just like the 'embarrassing bodies' photo. Every other day i put thin slices of garlic on my blobs/blemishes for 10 minutes or so, it stings but was certainly bearable. they scabbed over but the scabs have come off. I tried doing one side first as i wasn't sure what would happen but the scabs have come off and there is a huge improvement so i'm going to stick with it and do the others - try it, it's easy and cheaper and less painful than surgery. i tried garlic because i'd had them surgically removed by laser (i think!?) on the national health, not fantastically successful and they came back worse than ever after 9-10 months and can't have it done again for free so i tried garlic rather than fork out hundreds on something that didn't work anyway. before the surgery my cholesterol was checked and my dr told me my level was 'very good' so he put it down to bad luck. TRY GARLIC!

Hi I made my own mixture up with foundation; translutant, honey suckle and white. I tried 'garlic' by cutting in hald and then holding it on my eyes (nice juicy one the better) for 15 mins where the deposit is, (it burns) but after 3-4 days the skin can be peeled away, I stopped at peeling it once but I am sure you can keep going till it's gone, mine is lighter and less visible now.





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I have Xanthelasma above + below my eyes. Statin may help this. You can refer following link to see 'Disappearance of eyelid xanthelasma following oral simvastatin (Zocor)': http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1772630/ I have taken Statin for about two months. Right now there is no obvious improvement yet.





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see my comment above - TRY GARLIC!

I have Xanthelasma above + below my eyes. Statin may help this. You can refer following link to see 'Disappearance of eyelid xanthelasma following oral simvastatin (Zocor)': http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1772630/ I have taken Statin for about two months. Right now there is no obvious improvement yet.





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I have these too.. for years i have had loads of milia around my eyes and on my face.. they are harder smaller white spots.. that is bad enough as loads of them. but then last year i noticed 3 quite big yellow flatter blobs above one eye. went to the doctor who said it was from high cholesterol.. so had mine checked and it was high.. cross with myself cos i knew my cholesterol was high way back but only went cos of these xan's. anyway.. reduced my cholesterol with pills and it is now v low.. but i am noticing some appearing on the other eye.. and also above them, is slight puffing and its darker skin... it is so depressing and totally knocked my self confidence.. feels like everyone notices and makes me look hollow eyed... any suggestions for good cover up without looking like i am caked in make up? my natural skin colouring is sallow skin and i think they do show up more on this type of colouring. my dad has skin issues although not these.. obv i was prone anyway.. but any help please will be welcome.





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can someone please explain the garlic method for me please.I have tryed to look it up on the internet ,but having no luck ,i want to keep it under control before it becomes a major problem again.





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take thin slices of garlic and hold/press them onto the blemish. i did it for 3-4 mins then used a fresh slice. as the fresh slice is moist it should stay in place anyway but while trying to cut more and put in position the bits on your face may fall off - put another slice on. each blemish was treated for no more than 10 mins each time i did it which was every other day. i used 1 clove/6-8 slices each time. i was careful not to get it in my eye, i can imagine that would be bad so do be careful, i then used make up remover wipes and then soap to clean up. i did it every other day because i didn't know what it would do. it will sting and go red after just a couple seconds but i've not even used a whole garlic yet - 30p from tesco and there is a huge improvement and i reccomend it - good luck

I've had had it for about six/seven years years,im a lady of 37 with a young family and an active social life,im overweight but my My Colesterol levels are normal, I was given an acid peel under each eye and on the lid,twice by the nhs.It was very painfull,and i looked a mess for about two weeks,but it was so quick and easy to have done.I was in and out within 15 mins.It scabs up very bad around the eyes without scarring.I was sent to the hospital before this was made available to me,and was told i was too young for surgry and the scar would be very noticable.Four years down the line and it has returned,but its not bumpy and lumpy,but flat.I never go out without concealer on and use a tinted moisturizer,sometimes i have comments that my make up is smudged if i dont put it on thick enough...





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