Conjunctival Hemorrhage – Blood in the Eye

One of the most frequent “emergency” visits in my office is due to a conjunctival hemorrhage. This is what it looks like:

Although this looks dramatic and scary it is quite harmless most of the time especially if not accompanied by any discomfort and without a history of trauma to the eye.

Some possible associations are anti-coagulant therapy such as warfarin, Plavix or even aspirin. Vomiting and coughing can cause this too.     Why does it happen? The causal event is blood leaking out of a small blood vessel under the conjunctiva. You can think of it as a bruise.

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If you got a bruise anywhere in your body you probably would not pay much attention to it.    However, because the red blood is outlined by the white of the eye it is very noticeable.    Often it is not the patient but a friend or relative that first notices it. Another reason it is so dramatic is that the space between the conjunctiva and the white of the eye, the sclera, is so small that a tiny drop of blood is spread over a large area and appears larger than it truly is.    It usually takes about a week for this to resolve. While resolving it can actually spread and appear as if it it getting larger. It can look yellow as it is being resorbed.<!–adsensestart–>

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