It's hard to look your best when you're tired and your allergies have flared up again. But day after day the puffiness under your eyes continues to swell. You begin to feel helpless as those under eye shadows start to darken into a deep, rich blue giving you an old haggard look.

Whatever are you to do as the bags become larger and more pronounced with each passing day until you feel like you look like the Queen of Bag Ladies.

It is not necessary to carry around all that unsightly baggage you know.

How can you quickly reduce under eye puffiness? In a word, ice. That's right, ice! Simply by apply a cold compress to the under eye area for five minutes several times a day for two to three days will help to reduce the swelling. Be prepared to be amazed at the difference you will see.

Why do those big, puffy bags under your eyes develop in the first place and why do they just keep getting worse over time?

There are a variety of reasons for dark under eye bags but the major reasons include fluid retention, inadequate sleep, allergies, and, of course, heredity. The puffiness is a result of the under eye area becoming a natural collecting spot for fluids that haven't yet been absorbed into the body.

The good news is that under eye puffiness is not typically a difficult issue to resolve and is usually just a temporary although admittedly a rather unattractive problem. Who likes to look like an old hag?

As a quick fix to help reduce under eye puffiness, wrap an ice cube in a soft cloth and apply to the under eye area for five minutes to reduce the swelling. You will see an immediate improvement.

Better yet, make yourself a nice cup of tea using two good quality green tea bags. Squeeze out the moisture from the tea bags when you are done, place them in the freezer and use the tea bags as a compress a few times a day to help reduce the under eye puffiness.

Whether you use one of those chilled gel masks, cucumber slices, or just a cool damp cloth, the key is to reduce the swelling. The general rule of thumb is to apply the ice five minutes on and then give the area a rest for five minutes. Reapply a cold compress throughout the day as necessary for the first few days and then once or twice a day thereafter.

After you ice the under eye area, gently tap the surface of the under eye area to help stimulate the fluid to disperse. Another trick is to raise the head of your bed so that when you sleep, the fluid doesn't collect under the eye, which causes the swollen eye bags. Of course, it goes without saying that getting sufficient sleep each night is an important factor in treating dark, puffy under eye bags.

If you have developed dark circles as well try using a super Vitamin K treatment twice a day for a few weeks and watch those dark under eye circles begin to disappear. Vitamin K cream is typically used to treat skin discoloration and bruising. Vitamin K is one of the few remedies for effectively treating the minor bruising caused by broken capillaries under the eyes.

Being proactive is a helpful strategy too. As soon as any swelling starts to occur, reach for the ice right away and begin to treat the swelling before it gets out of hand.

If you are prone to dark circles, use a preventative approach by dabbing some vitamin K under the eyes as part of your daily skin care regime. It will help treat the discoloration as it occurs so that it will quickly diminish the haggard appearance that dark circles create.

Now that you have armed yourself with an array of effective strategies and treatments to banish those unsightly under eye bags, it is time to say goodbye to the bag lady syndrome for good!