What to do if you get hit in the eye with a softball?
If You Get Hit in the Eye
- Gently apply a small cold compress to reduce pain and swelling.
- Don’t use steaks or other food items.
- DO NOT apply any pressure.
- If a black eye, pain or visual disturbance occurs even after a light blow, immediately contact your ophthalmologist or emergency room.
What can happen if a ball hits your eye?
They sometimes cause a black eye or hyphema (bleeding in the front of the eye.). Sometimes the eyelid can be bruised or discolored. More serious blunt injuries often cause broken bones around the eye or the orbital bones, and may sometimes seriously damage important eye structures, which could lead to vision loss.
Can subconjunctival hemorrhage spread?
Generally a subconjunctival hemorrhage occurs spontaneously and will appear as if the blood is trapped in and around the white of the eye. Often the blood may start in a small area on the white of the eye, it may spread and include the entire white of the eye.
How long does it take for a subconjunctival hemorrhage to heal?
A subconjunctival hemorrhage may look alarming, but it’s usually a harmless condition that disappears within two weeks or so.
What is considered eye trauma?
Eye trauma refers to damage caused by a direct blow to the eye. The trauma may affect not only the eye, but the surrounding area, including adjacent tissue and bone structure. There are many different forms of trauma, varying in severity from minor injury to medical emergencies.
What sport has the most common sport eye injury?
Sports cause more than 40,000 eye injuries each year. More than 90 percent of these injuries can be prevented. Overall, basketball and baseball cause the most eye injuries, followed by water sports and racquet sports.
Is subconjunctival hemorrhage bad?
A subconjunctival hemorrhage can occur with heavy lifting, coughing, sneezing, vomiting or for no apparent reason. It looks bad and may be frightening, but is not dangerous and leaves no residual change in vision. There is no discharge from the eye.
When should you go to the ER for an eye injury?
We recommend seeking immediate medical attention anytime you experience swelling, redness, or pain in your eye, especially if it occurs after an injury or having a foreign object or chemical in your eye. When left untreated, these injuries can damage your eye even more, leading to partial and/or permanent blindness.
Which sports increase the risk for eye injury?
Overall, basketball and baseball cause the most eye injuries, followed by water sports and racquet sports.
What does it mean to have a subconjunctival hemorrhage?
The conjunctiva, or membrane that covers the white of an eye, has many blood vessels that can break, resulting in what is called a subconjunctival hemorrhage on the eye’s surface. Most causes are not serious and can be diagnosed by doctors easily.
How long does it take for subconjunctival hemorrhage to heal?
Subconjunctival hemorrhage doesn’t require treatment. Artificial tears (eye drops) can help relieve eye irritation if it occurs. Most broken blood vessels heal within 2 weeks. Larger spots may take longer to go away. As the blood clears up, the color of the area may change, like a fading bruise.
What causes blood to leak under the conjunctiva?
When a break happens, blood can leak under the conjunctiva. When this happens, the blood causes part of the white of your eye to turn bright red. The red spots caused by subconjunctival hemorrhage can look scary. But most cases do not cause any symptoms or need treatment.
What happens when the conjunctiva breaks in the eye?
When they break, blood leaks out and settles between the conjunctiva and the sclera. If the leak is small, a part of your eye may just seem a little red. However, if the leak is large enough, the entire white part of your eye may appear completely blood red and in some cases can actually bulge outward.