Subconjunctival hemorrhage

Subconjunctival hemorrhage

DiseaseDisorder infobox
Name = Subconjunctival hemorrhage
ICD10 = ICD10|H|11|3|h|10
ICD9 = ICD9|372.72

A subconjunctival hemorrhage (or subconjunctival haemorrhage) is bleeding underneath the conjunctiva. The conjunctiva contains many small, fragile blood vessels that are easily ruptured or broken. When this happens, blood leaks into the space between the conjunctiva and sclera.

Whereas a bruise typically appears black or blue underneath the skin, a subconjunctival hemorrhage initially appears bright red underneath the transparent conjunctiva. Later the hemorrhage may spread and become green or yellow, like a bruise. Usually this disappears within 2 weeks. [http://www.emedicine.com/oph/topic270.htm]

Although its appearance may be alarming, a subconjunctival hemorrhage is generally a painless and harmless condition; however, it may be associated with high blood pressure, or trauma to the eye.

Causes

*Minor eye trauma
*Spontaneously with increased venous pressure :*Strenuous Exercising:*Coughing:*Touching/widening eyes:*Sneezing:*Pulling extreme g-forces:*Vomiting, particularly forced vomiting as seen in bulimia nervosa:*Choking:*Straining:*Severe alcohol intoxication, leading to raised blood pressure
*Blood dyscrasia (rare)
*Severe hypertension
*LASIK
*Blood thinners, such as ginger, capsaicin, ginseng, garlic, aspirin, or "Herba" if taken in high doses or combined. These can also make the vessels in the eye more susceptible to the pressure causes listed above.
*Diving accidents-Mask Squeeze (volume inside in mask creates increased pressure with increased depth)
*Severe thoracic trauma, leading to increased pressure in the extremities, including around the eyes.

Subconjunctival hemorrhages in infants may be associated with scurvy (a vitamin C deficiency) [http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/1151.html] , [http://www.emedicine.com/radio/topic628.htm] , abuse or traumatic asphyxia syndrome [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15729281&query_hl=2] .

Treatment and management

A subconjunctival hemorrhage is typically a self-limiting condition that requires no treatment in the absence of infection or significant trauma. The elective use of aspirin and NSAIDs is typically discouraged.

A common symptom of a subconjunctival hemorrhage, itchy eyes, is often treated by applying eye drops or artificial tears to the affected eye(s), however, this is discouraged, as it may slow down the healing process.

External links

* [http://www.fpnotebook.com/EYE47.htm FP Notebook]
* [http://www.emedicine.com/oph/topic270.htm eMedicine]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Subconjunctival hemorrhage — A very common cause of a painless bloody eye usually first noticed by somebody else or by the person with it when they look in the mirror. The bleeding results from a break in a small blood vessel in the sclera, the white of the eye. This… …   Medical dictionary

  • subconjunctival — Beneath the conjunctiva. * * * sub·con·junc·ti·val .səb .kän .jəŋ(k) tī vəl adj situated or occurring beneath the conjunctiva <subconjunctival hemorrhage> sub·con·junc·ti·val·ly ē adv * * * sub·con·junc·ti·val (sub″kən… …   Medical dictionary

  • Intraocular hemorrhage — (sometimes hemophthalmos or hemophthalmia) is bleeding (hemorrhage) into the eyeball ( oculus in Latin. It may be the result of physical trauma (direct injury to the eye) and/or medical illness. Severe hemorrhage, particularly when leading to… …   Wikipedia

  • Blood in the eye — Medically known as a subconjunctival hemorrhage. A very common cause of a painless bloody eye usually first noticed by somebody else or by the person with it when they look in the mirror. The bleeding results from a break in a small blood vessel… …   Medical dictionary

  • Eye bleed — Medically called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. A very common cause of a painless bloody eye usually first noticed by somebody else or by the person with it when they look in the mirror. The bleeding results from a break in a small blood vessel in …   Medical dictionary

  • Red eye (medicine) — For other uses, see Red eye (disambiguation). Red eye (medicine) Classification and external resources Subconjunctival hemorrhage causing red coloration as result of ruptured blood vessel in the eye. ICD 10 …   Wikipedia

  • Bruise — Black and blue redirects here. For other uses, see Black and Blue (disambiguation). Bruises redirects here. For the 2008 rock song, see Bruises (song). Bruise Classification and external resources Bruises from a ladder fall …   Wikipedia

  • Brain ischemia — Classification and external resources CT scan slice of the brain showing a right hemispheric cerebral infarct (left side of image). ICD 10 G45.9, I67.8 …   Wikipedia

  • Cerebral infarction — Cerebral infarct Classification and external resources CT scan slice of the brain showing a right hemispheric cerebral infarct (left side of image). ICD 10 I 63 …   Wikipedia

  • Glaucoma — Classification and external resources Acute angle closure glaucoma of the right eye. Note the mid sized pupil, which was nonreactive to light, and injection of the conjunctiva. ICD 10 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”