


loss of vision or visual changes (other than blurriness caused by the swelling).You should also seek immediate medical help if you have these symptoms along with the injury: You should seek medical help right away if you lost consciousness when you received the black eye. See a doctor if the eye becomes infected or has not healed after 2 weeks. an allergic reaction or some other health condition.a skull fracture (usually causing a black eye in both eyes).sinus infection or an infection around the eyes.dental work or surgery (for example, cosmetic surgery or nasal surgery).The most common cause of a black eye is a knock to the area, causing trauma, following an accident, assault, contact during sport or even if you just walk into something. Black eyes usually take up to 2 weeks to heal. This is not usually serious.Īfter a few days, the black and blue bruises will fade to yellow or green as the blood is reabsorbed into the body. Alternatively, the white of your eye might be bright red because there is bleeding on the surface of the eye. Sometimes you might also have bleeding inside your eye, and this is a medical emergency that needs treatment. That’s because the skin around the eye is quite loose, thin and transparent, meaning it puffs up easily and even a little pooling of blood can cause discolouration. The eye itself is not usually damaged.Ī black eye can often look worse than it actually is.

These tissues will usually be swollen too. The bruising and blue and purple discolouration are caused by broken blood vessels under the skin. A black eye is also known as periorbital haematoma.Ī black eye develops when fluids collect in the tissues around the eye. Depending on how it happened, it may be a good idea to get it checked out by a doctor in case you have a more serious injury.

