An eye contusion (black eye) is when blood vessels around the eye are damaged or broken after an injury.
Eyelid ContusionCopyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc. |
Things that may raise the risk of this problem are:
The main symptom is a black and blue or purple mark around the eye. There may also be redness, swelling, and tenderness or pain. The skin may turn yellow when it begins to heal.
You will be asked about your symptoms and health history. You will also be asked how the injury happened. The eye will be examined. This is often enough to make the diagnosis.
More tests may be done to look for other problems from the injury, such as trouble seeing or a fracture.
Most black eyes heal on their own in about 2 weeks. The goal of treatment is to ease pain and swelling. Choices are:
To lower the risk of a black eye:
Eye Smart—American Academy of Opthalmology
http://www.eyesmart.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline
http://www.ndvh.org
Canadian Ophthalmological Society
http://www.eyesite.ca
Public Health Agency of Canada
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca
Approach to eye trauma—emergency management. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/management/approach-to-eye-trauma-emergency-management. Accessed October 21, 2020.
Eye injuries. Kids Health—Nemours Foundation website. Available at
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Accessed October 21, 2020.
Romaniuk VM. Ocular trauma and other catastrophes. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2013 May;31(2):399-411.
What is a black eye? Eye Smart—American Academy of Ophthalmology website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Accessed October 21, 2020.
Last reviewed September 2020 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Daniel A. Ostrovsky, MD