Black Eye Care

Most cases of a black eye can be cared for at home with over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication, ice, and rest. Seek medical care if the eye becomes infected or does not heal within two weeks. What Home and Natural Remedies Treat a Black Eye? Rest and ice applied early after the injury helps decrease swelling and pain.

6 Tips for the Treatment of a Black Eye Ice the Area. Icing your bruise helps reduce swelling and alleviate the pain. … Pack a Black Eye in Popcorn or Peas. Frozen popcorn kernels or peas can also help reduce the pain from your black eye. … Clean It Up. … Avoid Pressing on the Eye Itself. … Keep Your Chin Up. … Wear Goggles. …

Preparing to Face the World. The dark discoloration of a black eye will gradually change colors and fade but depending on the severity of your bruise and your treatment of it, the average healing time lies between 5 and 14 days. It’s not likely that you can confine yourself to your quarters for that long.

Anyone with a black eye should see a doctor to rule out damage to the eye itself. If you have any vision problems, it is especially important to get to the doctor immediately.

Black eyes are sometimes accompanied by swelling. A blow to the eye can potentially damage the inside of the eye so it’s a good idea to see your eye doctor if you have a black eye. A black eye can also be caused by a skull fracture. If your black eye is accompanied by other symptoms, you should seek medical care.

Seek immediate medical care for these conditions: Changes in or loss of vision, especially double vision Inability to move the eye (for example, unable to look in different directions) Any injury in which you think an object pierced the eye or may be inside the eyeball Obvious blood in the eye Deformity to the eye or fluid leaking from the eyeball Any lacerations (cuts) to the eye area

A black eye (or "shiner") occurs when fluids collect in the tissues surrounding the eye after an injury near the eye. Technically speaking, a black eye is a bruise or discoloration caused by broken blood vessels under the surface of the skin.

A black eye can sometimes take as long as two weeks to heal completely, and a severe black eye can take even longer. Unless you plan to stay home and not leave the house for as long as your black eye takes to heal (or unless you plan to wear sunglasses everywhere you go), you may want to try concealing it with makeup.

The dark colors gradually fade after a few days, from dark blue, violet, or black, to a yellowish-green. A black eye normally disappears within 1 to 2 weeks, and it does not normally need medical attention.

After one or two days of getting a black eye, you need to apply warm compresses. This will help increase blood flow to the tissues around the eye and accelerate the healing process. Dip a clean cloth in warm water, and squeeze out the excess water. Put the warm cloth on the affected eye until the cloth becomes cool.

Most black eyes are the result of blunt trauma that causes bleeding beneath the thin eyelid skin, producing the characteristic black and blue discoloration. A fracture deep inside the skull can also blacken both eyes, even though the eye area itself was not injured.

A serious condition that can accompany a black eye is bleeding inside the anterior part of the eye (between the back side of the cornea and the front of the iris). This is called hyphema (hy-FEE-muh), and it is a medical emergency, as it can lead to increased eye pressure and vision loss from glaucoma if left untreated.

Black eye. Most injuries that cause a black eye aren’t serious. But a black eye may indicate a more serious injury, such as an internal injury to the eye or a fracture of the thin bones around the eye. You may have a skull fracture if you have double vision, bruising around both eyes (raccoon eyes) or bleeding from the nose.

A bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a cloth makes a good ice pack. Protect the area from further injury. Avoid athletic or other possibly injurious activities until the eye has healed. Do not put a steak or a piece of raw meat on a black eye. Putting potentially bacteria-laden meat on a mucous membrane or an open skin injury can be dangerous.

Contact the doctor immediately if the you experience any changes or worsening of symptoms. How Long Does It Take for a Black Eye to Go Away? For most people, black eyes heal in one to two weeks. Use of ice in the first 24 hours after the injury has the most significant effect on the speed with which the injury heals.

Most cases of a black eye can be cared for at home with over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication, ice, and rest. Seek medical care if the eye becomes infected or does not heal within two weeks. What Home and Natural Remedies Treat a Black Eye? Rest and ice applied early after the injury helps decrease swelling and pain.

It’s time to see an eye doctor if: Your vision is blurry or your eyes are red, swollen, or painful. You’re not seeing in focus, even when you’re wearing your glasses or contacts. You think you may have a vision problem or eye disease. Your doctor says you need a dilated eye exam.

Despite the name, "black eye," the eye itself is not usually injured. The tissues around the eye may be significantly discolored and swollen without any injury to the eye itself. Think of it as a bruise around the eye.

Dark circles under the eyes usually aren’t a medical problem. If discoloration and swelling appear under just one eye and seem to get worse over time, talk to your primary care doctor. If you want a more lasting solution than concealers and over-the-counter creams can provide, see a dermatologist for advice.