A busted blood vessel in your eye, known medically as a subconjunctival hemorrhage, almost always heals on its own without any treatment. The bright red patch looks alarming, but it’s typically painless and clears up within two weeks. There’s no way to speed the healing process, but a few simple steps can keep your eye comfortable while it resolves.
Why It Looks Worse Than It Is
The clear membrane covering the white of your eye (the conjunctiva) contains tiny, fragile blood vessels. When one of these vessels breaks, blood gets trapped in a thin layer between the membrane and the white of the eye. Because there’s nowhere for the blood to go, it spreads out and creates a vivid red blotch that can cover a large area. Despite how dramatic it looks, this blood sits on the surface and doesn’t affect your vision or reach the inside of your eye.
What Causes a Blood Vessel to Break
Often, there’s no identifiable cause at all. You might wake up, look in the mirror, and see a bright red spot with no idea how it got there. When there is a trigger, it’s usually something that briefly spikes pressure in the tiny vessels of your eye: a hard sneeze, a coughing fit, vomiting, straining during a bowel movement, or heavy lifting. Rubbing your eyes too vigorously or bumping your eye can also do it.
Certain underlying health conditions make these hemorrhages more likely. High blood pressure is the most significant risk factor, especially in older adults. Diabetes, high cholesterol, and hardening of the arteries also increase the odds. In younger people, contact lens irritation or injury is the most common culprit. Blood-thinning medications and supplements can contribute as well, since they make it harder for small vessels to clot after a minor break.
How to Care for Your Eye at Home
No medication, eye drop, or compress will make the blood reabsorb faster. Your body clears the trapped blood gradually, just like it does with a bruise anywhere else on your skin. That said, a few things can help with comfort:
- Artificial tears. Over-the-counter lubricating eye drops can relieve any mild scratchiness or itchy sensation. Use preservative-free drops if you’re applying them more than a few times a day.
- Avoid rubbing your eye. Rubbing can re-irritate the area or even cause a new vessel to break, making the red patch larger.
- Skip blood-thinning pain relievers. If you need pain relief for something unrelated, choose acetaminophen over aspirin or ibuprofen during the healing period, since those can thin the blood and slow clotting. Don’t stop any prescribed blood thinners without talking to your doctor first.
What Healing Looks Like
Most subconjunctival hemorrhages clear up within about two weeks. Larger spots can take a bit longer. As the blood breaks down and your body reabsorbs it, the color shifts in stages, much like a bruise on your arm. The initial bright red fades to a darker red, then may turn orange or yellowish before disappearing entirely. That yellow tint on the white of your eye toward the end of healing is completely normal and temporary.
The spot may actually look bigger in the first day or two before it starts to fade. This is just the blood continuing to spread under the membrane and doesn’t mean anything is getting worse.
When a Red Eye Needs Medical Attention
A standard subconjunctival hemorrhage doesn’t hurt, doesn’t change your vision, and doesn’t need a doctor’s visit. But a few signs suggest something more serious is going on:
- Pain in the eye. A painless red patch is typical. Significant pain is not.
- Any change in vision. Blurriness, reduced vision, or seeing spots could indicate bleeding inside the eye rather than on the surface. Blood pooling inside the front chamber of the eye (a condition called hyphema) is a medical emergency that requires prompt treatment.
- Nausea or vomiting alongside eye symptoms. This combination can signal dangerously high pressure inside the eye.
- Recurrent hemorrhages. If you keep getting broken blood vessels, especially more than once within a month, it’s worth checking your blood pressure and getting a basic blood workup to look for clotting problems.
The key distinction is surface bleeding versus internal bleeding. A subconjunctival hemorrhage sits on the outside of the eye and is harmless. Blood visible inside the colored part of your eye, or bleeding accompanied by pain and vision changes, is a different situation entirely.
Reducing the Chances It Happens Again
Since many cases have no clear trigger, prevention isn’t always possible. But you can lower the odds by addressing the most common contributing factors. If you have high blood pressure, keeping it well controlled is the single most effective thing you can do. Managing blood sugar levels matters too if you have diabetes.
On a practical level, try to minimize activities that force sudden pressure increases in your head and chest. Breathe steadily when lifting heavy objects instead of holding your breath and bearing down. Treat chronic coughs and allergies so you’re not sneezing or coughing forcefully throughout the day. If you wear contact lenses, handle them gently and keep them clean to avoid irritating the surface of your eye. Wearing protective eyewear during sports or yard work prevents the minor bumps that can rupture a vessel.