Eye Injuries—Bruises

Also called: Contusion, Ecchymoses

A bruise is a mark on your skin caused by blood trapped under the surface. It happens when an injury crushes small blood vessels but does not break the skin. Those vessels break open and leak blood under the skin.

Bruises are often painful and swollen. You can get skin, muscle and bone bruises. Bone bruises are the most serious.

It can take months for a bruise to fade, but most last about two weeks. They start off a reddish color, and then turn bluish-purple and greenish-yellow before returning to normal. To reduce bruising, ice the injured area and elevate it above your heart. See your health care provider if you seem to bruise for no reason, or if the bruise appears to be infected.

• Bleeding into the skin (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Bruise (Medical Encyclopedia)

The structure of your face helps protect your eyes from injury. Still, injuries can damage your eye, sometimes severely enough that you could lose your vision. Most eye injuries are preventable. If you play sports or work in certain jobs, you may need protection.

The most common type of injury happens when something irritates the outer surface of your eye. Certain jobs such as industrial jobs or hobbies such as carpentry make this type of injury more likely. It’s also more likely if you wear contact lenses.

Chemicals or heat can burn your eyes. With chemicals, the pain may cause you to close your eyes. This traps the irritant next to the eye and may cause more damage. You should wash out your eye right away while you wait for medical help.

• Corneal injury (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye – foreign object in (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye emergencies (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hyphema (Medical Encyclopedia)