Bleeding Eyes: Kinds, Root Causes, Treatments, and Requesting Medical Assistance
Eye bleeds, or hemorrhages, can occur in various parts of the eye due to different causes. Here are some common types of eye bleeds, their symptoms, causes, and when to seek medical help for each:
Common Types of Eye Bleeds
- Subconjunctival Hemorrhage (SCH)
- Symptoms: A noticeable red patch on the white part of the eye, often painless.
- Causes: Coughing, sneezing, straining, or even minor trauma.
- Seek Medical Help: Generally benign, but if vision is affected or the bleeding is severe, seek medical attention.
- Retinal Hemorrhage
- Symptoms: Blurred vision, floaters, or blind spots.
- Causes: Trauma, diabetic retinopathy, hypertension, retinal vein occlusion, and other diseases like sickle cell anemia or high altitude retinopathy [1][2].
- Seek Medical Help: Always seek immediate medical attention as it can lead to permanent vision loss if not treated promptly.
- Vitreous Hemorrhage
- Symptoms: Sudden onset of floaters, flashes of light, or sudden loss of vision.
- Causes: Trauma, diabetic retinopathy, retinal tears, or detached retina.
- Seek Medical Help: Immediate medical attention is required as it can indicate a serious condition such as retinal detachment.
- Hyphema
- Symptoms: Blood in the anterior chamber of the eye, often visible as a red pool at the bottom of the eye, and sometimes accompanied by pain and blurred vision.
- Causes: Trauma to the eye.
- Seek Medical Help: Immediate medical attention is necessary to prevent complications such as increased intraocular pressure leading to glaucoma.
When to Seek Medical Help
In general, if you experience any of the following symptoms, seek medical help immediately:
- Vision Loss: Any sudden or significant decrease in vision.
- Severe Pain: Pain that disrupts normal activities.
- Sudden Onset of Symptoms: Floaters, flashes, or sudden appearance of blood in the eye.
- Recent Trauma: If the eye bleed occurs after a hit or injury to the eye.
Prompt medical evaluation is crucial for diagnosing the cause and preventing potential complications such as vision loss. If a person experiences an eye bleed, they should contact an ophthalmologist.
Other Types of Eye Bleeds
- Subretinal Hemorrhage: Bleeding occurs underneath the retina.
- Hemolacria: This refers to when the body produces blood-stained tears.
- Submacular Hemorrhage: Bleeding occurs in the space between the retinal pigment epithelium and the retina, called the macula.
Causes of Eye Bleeds
Causes of eye bleeding include trauma to the eye, injury to the orbital bones, conjunctivitis, contact lens use, laser eye treatment, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, strenuous exercise, the Valsalva maneuver, a tumor in the eye, atypical blood vessels on the iris, eye infections, blood clotting conditions, cancers of the eye, medications, and underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, anemia, hemochromatosis, thrombocytopenia, hemophilia, leukemia, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, telangiectasias, Terson's syndrome, aneurysm, and posterior vitreous detachment.
The outlook for SCH is generally good, as it tends to go away on its own. However, if a person experiences an eye bleed due to a hyphema or more severe cause, treatment and recovery may take longer.
[1] Diabetic Retinopathy - NHS (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetic-retinopathy/) [2] High Altitude Retinopathy - American Academy of Ophthalmology (https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/high-altitude-retinopathy-fact-sheet)
- Subretinal Hemorrhage, a type of eye bleed, occurs underneath the retina, often associated with conditions like age-related macular degeneration, diabetes, or hypertension.
- Hemolacria, the production of blood-stained tears, can be a symptom of various medical-conditions such as tumors, leukemia, or inflammatory diseases like colitis or psoriatic disease.
- Submacular Hemorrhage, occurring in the macula, can lead tovision loss and is associated with diseases like diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, or retinal vein occlusion.
- Predictive science indicates a connection between type 2 diabetes and certain eye-bleeds, particularly retinal hemorrhages, underscoring the importance of managing diabetes to maintain eye health.
- Ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease, can cause depression, and its symptoms may include eye floaters due to associated blood vessel irregularities.
- Obesity is linked to increased risks for various health-and-wellness issues, including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, underscoring the importance of maintaining a healthy weight.
- Terson's syndrome, which involves bleeding within the eye, is sometimes seen in cases of bipolar disorder and other head trauma.
- Medications, particularly blood thinners, can increase the risk for eye bleeds, emphasizing the need for patients to discuss potential side effects with their healthcare providers.
