Hemorrhages under the conjunctive of the eye are something relatively harmless and can easily be brushed off. Unfortunately they are not the only place where they may occur on the surface levels of the eye.
Whenever the hemorrhage occurs and blood enters the space between the iris and the cornea of the eye, it is called Hyphema. What does this condition for the vision, we will take a look below.
What is hyphema?
The area affected is hardly the only difference with other eye hemorrhages that can be observed. There is also a wide difference between the symptoms experienced and the possible consequences from it. It occurs as a result of a leaking/broken vessel in the eye. The space between the cornea and the iris can easily be filled by the blood leaking from those vessels.
The severity of it depends to a large degree depending on the amount of blood that has entered the chamber. It can be anywhere from a bit of redness to small pools of blood, but in rare cases and depending on the blood vessel damage, it can fill the entire chamber making the cornea appear red.
Symptoms of Hyphema
Unlike the common hemorrhages that appear in the white part of the eye (conjunctiva), with hyphema, you will feel a lot of other discomforts. Some of the symptoms that you will experience include:
- Bloodshot anterior chamber is hard to miss depending on the volume of blood pouring in
- Impaired vision (cloudy, blurry, etc.)
- Unlike the common subconjunctival hemorrhages, hyphema causes pain
- Sensitivity to light
- Headaches
Avoiding treatment of this condition can leave permanent damage to your eyes and could easily result in a vision loss. Glaucoma is one of the complications which may arise from this condition.
Causes
While the condition can appear spontaneously, as a result of blood thinners or other underlying conditions, the most common cause for hyphema is an injury to the eye.
Getting in a fight, work accident and other scenarios can end up with injuring your eye - if you have received damage to the eye, you should quickly seek medical attention in order to mitigate any further damage to your eyes.
Apart from that, this condition can also appear as a result of an eye surgery, too. Infections could also possibly lead to hyphema.
How do you treat Hyphema?
There are treatments which will allow for reducing most of the symptoms in less severe cases, like pain and anti-inflammatory meds and eye drops. Proper position of the head and rest are usually enough for you to start feeling better in those less severe cases.
In the case of a more severe Hyphema, though, you might even end up having to go in for a surgery. In some cases even after the body reabsorbs the blood from your eye, new bleeding may occur, which can fill again and damage the structure of your eye, as a result of high eye pressure. This is why even if you feel good, have no bleeding and no visible issues, you should still visit an eye specialist, after sustaining an eye injury.
Taking care of your eyes can be a challenge and there are numerous conditions which can end up damaging it. Checking in with a specialist is one of the simplest ways for you to catch any condition in the background, including those which may possibly cause hyphema (apart from injuries).