Black eye
Bruising injury to the face
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- 2 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Bleeding
Bleeding within the eye, a condition called a hyphema, is more serious: it can permanently reduce vision and can damage the cornea. In some cases, abnormally high pressure inside the eyeball (ocular hypertension) can also result.
Signs and symptoms
Despite the name, the eye itself is not affected. Blunt force or trauma to the eye socket results in burst capillaries and subsequent haemorrhaging (hematoma). The fatty tissue along with the lack of muscle around the eye socket allows a potential space for blood accumulation. As this blood decomposes and is resorbed, various pigments are released lending itself to the extreme outward appearance.
The appearance (discoloration in purple and blue along with swelling) does not usually indicate a serious injury, and most black eyes resolve within a week. The tissues around the eye are soft and thus bruise easily when compressed against margins of bone which surround and protect the eye socket. The treatment is the same as that for bruises in other parts of the body – cold compresses during the first twenty-four hours. During the process of healing, and so long as there no breaks in the skin, a black eye can be made less conspicuous by using cosmetics designed to obscure discolorations of the skin. In a severe contusion, blowout of the floor of the orbit may occur, leading to double vision. Such an injury may require surgical correction.
Associated conditions
Eye injury and head trauma may also coincide with a black eye. Some common signs of a more serious injury may include:
- Double vision
- Loss of sight and/or fuzzy vision could occur
- Unconsciousness
- Inability to move the eye or large swelling around the eye
- Blood or clear fluid from the nose or the ears
- Blood on the surface of the eye itself or cuts on the eye itself
- Persistent headache or migraine
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Treatment
Unless there is actual trauma to the eye itself (see below), extensive medical attention is generally not needed.
Applying an ice pack will keep down swelling and reduce internal bleeding by constricting the capillaries. Analgesic drugs (painkillers) can be administered to relieve pain.
An anecdotal remedy for a black eye consists of applying raw meat to the eye area. Research has yet to find any evidence of this treatment being effective. Likely the raw meat was used when ice packs were not yet commercially available and meat was stored in iceboxes instead of in a protective gas. While cold but not freezing, meat is more gentle to the skin than ice and will not damage the surface of the skin as the skin temperature cannot go below freezing even in extreme cases. Meat is also soft and comes easier into contact with the skin than blocks of ice that were available.