How to Treat a Black Eye (Bruise)

A "black eye" or bruising of the tissues surrounding the eye is caused by the "pooling" of blood in the affected area--and the skin around the eye is very thin so the pooled blood appears purply-blue. As time passes (it usually takes about a week for the bruise to disappear) the blood is reabsorbed back into the body and the black eye gradually disappears. This article will give you some tips and ways to treat a black eye.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Ice pack
• Tin drink
• Vitamin K
• Arnica plant
• Acetaminophen

1. Treating the black eye immediately will help to reduce the swelling and stop the internal bleeding. Place an ice pack wrapped in a thin cloth to the area above the injured eye, but don't apply too much pressure. Place some crushed ice into a cloth and apply as necessary; if the eye is very swollen and you are unable to move the eyelids, don't place the ice pack directly on the injured eye; instead place it just above the eye on the forehead region. You can use some sort of dressing to tape the ice pack in position. Don't leave the pack on for long periods; it is better to use it at 10-minute intermittent intervals.

2. Using Vitamin K is another way to treat a new eye bruise. Vitamin K helps to promote and accelerate healing to the tissue. It is readily available to buy in most drugstores and pharmacies. Purchase the 1 percent to 5 percent Vitamin K cream and apply gently over the affected areas around the eye. Be careful not to get any into the eye socket itself. Another way is to soak a sterile dressing with the Vitamin K cream or oil and then apply it to the injured eye by taping it in place with dressing. This is a good way to treat the eye because you can wear the Vitamin K "eyepatch" while you are sleeping to help healing.

3. If you are experiencing pain from the bleeding or swelling of the tissue surrounding the affected eye it is better to take OTC acetaminophen. DO NOT TAKE ASPIRIN since this has anticoagulant properties that will prevent the blood from clotting and could make the bruise larger and result in a longer healing process.

4. Certain herbal remedies can give some relief to a black eye. For example, the arnica plant and an enzyme found in pineapple called bromelain have proven to have healing properties for bruising. As always, it is recommended to consult your own medical doctor before starting any herbal remedies or alternative treatments.

5. The use of parsley can also help in treating a black eye. This herb has anesthetic and anti-inflammatory properties and will help the healing process. Grind up some chopped parsley and mix with crushed ice in a blender. Pour the parsley "slurry" mix into ice cube trays and place in the freezer. When the ice cubes are frozen, take a few parsley cubes out of the tray,place onto a soft cotton cloth and apply it to the injured eye as a cold compress. Repeat as necessary, but remember not to leave the cold ice compress on for too long at a time.

6. There are ways to hide a black eye cosmetically while it heals. Certain types of makeup and foundation are available which are specially formulated to conceal or hide marks and discoloration on the skin. Use the Internet and research some of these products that can also be purchased online.

7. Don't blow your nose too forcefully while the black eye is healing, otherwise you will cause the capillaries to bleed again from the force and pressure. This will make the healing process longer and the bruising could become larger, and a worse case scenario is infection secondary to the original bleed from the initial injury due to accumulation of blood, and possibly air if the bone of the eye socket was fractured.

Tips & Warnings

• It is advisable to see an ophthalmologist after you have sustained any kind of eye injury. Sometimes the injury might appear superficial and asymptomatic at the early stages, but complications could occur later from the injury: e.g. retinal detachment or internal hemorrhages.
• Take the injured person to the ER or seek immediate medical attention if the eye injury presents with these signs and symptoms: double or blurry vision, dizziness, "floaters" in the eye, pain upon eye movement and severe bleeding that will not stop.
• The purpose of this article is to educate and inform the reader and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or seeking medical attention from your own doctor.

Resources

• Jewell Productions TV

[poolsidemom]

on 2/1/2009 Please, Just help people and stop being hurtful to each other. That is "unprofessional"! ...and Thanks for the parsley tip (and the warning). Home remedies are great, since I am at home looking this stuff up and not at my Physicians office where I will utimately end up anyway.
-Hoping your new careers in medicine will take you both as far away as possible from eHow in the near future (as bitterness seems apparent!)

[DrJewell]

on 5/8/2008 Richard...If you read the article CORRECTLY...I did state "DO NOT PLACE THE ICE PACK DIRECTLY ON THE INJURED EYE...place it just above the eye on the forehead region" As to "herbal" remedies I ALWAYS advice individuals to be "open-minded" about the options but ALWAYS CONSULT your medical Doctor before starting any alternative medicine or treatments!..NOTE that I had mentioned this several times in this article!!

Yes...i mean ten min intervals ..not directly on the eye or injures tissue but above the eye on the forehead region.

[RFerriANP]

on 5/8/2008 I need to point out the errors in the article but they can potentially be harmful to someone following the advice. Ice backs should NEVER be place directly on a "black eye" or any other part of the body. There always needs to be a cloth barrier between the ice and skin to prevent serious tissue damage. Also ICE SHOULD NEVER BE APPLIED ANYWEHRE FOR A DAY OR TWO. THIS IS DANGEOUS, AND HARMFUL. There isn't ANY evidence based research to support that potentially damaging situation. Wearing an eye patch without comprehensive eye exam many actually lead to other problems and retinal damage. While I appreciate how many people "like" herbal remedies it is essential to remember that herbs are basically unregulated, untested, and poorly manufactured "drugs". Until the “herbal” industry provides peer and evidence based research that can be replicated I urge extreme caution with the agents -

[PamelaA]

on 5/8/2008 Just concerned about wearing an ice pack for 1-2 days. Did you mean ten minute intervals up to 2 hours?

[Fike]

on 5/8/2008 Where do you think the myth of using a steak over it came from? Is it at all relevant? Thanks for the thorough article.