Do you remember Tony Stark’s eye from Captain America: Civil War? Well, that’s what looks like a black eye. But the main question is what causes a black eye and how to treat it. A black eye is a discolouration that happens around the eye area due to injury or trauma. The tissue around the eye gets bruised, and the broken blood vessels beneath the skin start bleeding, causing discolouration.
In medical terms, this condition is called a Periorbital Hematoma. There are many reasons why one gets a black eye, and to understand them in detail. Let’s get into deeper details about causes, symptoms and treatments. Therefore, let's unwind everything one needs to know about a black eye.
What Causes the Black Eye?
As discussed above, when tissue around the eye gets damaged, one experiences a black eye. The blood vessels start bleeding, making the area appear black. It can be due to accidents and injuries caused during performing sports, indulging in fights or even surgeries. Cosmetic surgeries, facelifts, and eye surgeries can also be a cause for a black eye.
Symptoms of a Black Eye
- Swelling around the eye area
- Bruising and pain around the eye
- Black, purple or blue discolouration
- Blurred vision
- Headache
- Sensitivity to light
- Difficulty in eye movement
Diagnosis of Black Eye
If you get a black eye due to some head injury, then you will experience symptoms like double vision, faintness, and blood or liquid coming out of your nose or ears. However, to examine your condition, the doctor will diagnose it in the following way.
- The doctor will ask you to move your eyes in accordance with your finger to check if you have pain and discomfort.
- To evaluate fractures and bone injuries, they might have to perform an X-ray and CT scan.
- They will also test for eyeball abrasions (a scratch on the front layer of your eyeball cornea) that may cause discomfort, pain, redness, watery eyes, headaches and sensitivity to light (Photophobia).
Black Eye Treatment and Recovery
Usually, black eye recovery happens naturally and takes about 2 to 3 weeks to heal. While this happens, you must take proper care of your eyes. You can follow the following methods for your black eye treatment at home:
- Cold compress: Use a bag of ice cubes or frozen peas for a cold compress on the region of the black eye. Doing this will help reduce the temperature of the area and decrease the swelling, if there’s any.
- Warm compress: After a couple of days of applying a cold compress, you can switch to a warm compress. Doing this will help boost the flow of blood to that region.
- Massage: To speed up the process of healing, massage the area around the black eye gently with your fingers.
- Medicines: If the pain is unbearable, ask your doctor if you can have a painkiller.
How to Prevent Black Eyes?
As we have been taught all our lives, prevention is better than cure, it’s important you protect your eyes. Here are certain things one must do to protect black eyes.
- Always wear helmets, protective gear, face shields and goggles to protect your eyes from injury.
- Make sure to check thoroughly with your cosmetologist before indulging in any surgery.
- Maintain your blood pressure levels to prevent conditions like bruising.
Summing It Up
Eyes are one of the most important parts of our body as they are directly related to vision. Hence, protecting them is important, but we understand that sometimes accidents and injuries happen. Therefore, if you happen to experience a black eye, then you should follow the above-mentioned tips. Also, to protect your eyes, you should invest in a good pair of sunglasses from us. All our sunglasses offer UV400 protection, and you will get free accessories like cleaning spray, microfibre cleaning cloth, a hard shell case and a keychain screwdriver with your pair.
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