What does it mean when your eye has a burst blood vessel?
Seeing a spot of red in your otherwise white eyeball can be alarming. Many of us refer to these as burst blood vessels in the eye—the technical term for it being “subconjunctival hemorrhage.” In other words, it’s a delicate blood vessel in your eye that has broken—for one reason or another.
What happens when blood gets trapped in your eye?
When this happens, blood gets trapped in the blood vessel or between the conjunctiva and white part or your eye. Eye bleeding makes the blood vessel very visible or causes a red patch on your eye. This kind of eye bleeding is common. It usually doesn’t cause pain or affect your vision.

Why does the inside of my eye feel red?
The conjunctiva also lines the inside of your eyelid, housing a meshwork of small, thin blood vessels. These small blood vessels are fairly fragile and can easily burst or break. When they break, blood leaks out and settles between the conjunctiva and the sclera. 1 If the leak is small, a part of your eye may just seem a little red.
What does it look like when you have a blood clot in your eye?
The hemorrhage appears as a patch of bright, red blood on the white part of your eye. While it can be frightening to awaken to what appears to be a bleeding eye, a subconjunctival hemorrhage is usually harmless, with the visible blood resulting from a simple broken blood vessel.

What do you call a broken blood vessel in the eye?
Subconjunctival hemorrhage (broken blood vessel in eye) Print. A subconjunctival hemorrhage (sub-kun-JUNK-tih-vul HEM-uh-ruj) occurs when a tiny blood vessel breaks just underneath the clear surface of your eye (conjunctiva).
The hemorrhage appears as a patch of bright, red blood on the white part of your eye. While it can be frightening to awaken to what appears to be a bleeding eye, a subconjunctival hemorrhage is usually harmless, with the visible blood resulting from a simple broken blood vessel.
What does it mean when you have redness in your eye?
When small, delicate blood vessels break beneath the tissue covering the white of the eye ( conjunctiva ), resulting eye redness may mean that you have a subconjunctival hemorrhage. A subconjunctival hemorrhage usually is benign, causing no vision problems or significant eye…
What happens when there is too much blood in the eye?
Sensitivity to light: Photophobia, or sensitivity to light, can happen in the eye with the hyphema. Hyphemas are graded on a scale of zero to four based on the amount of blood obscuring the cornea. The higher the grade the more risk of intraocular pressure that can lead to glaucoma and vision loss.
Can a sneeze cause a blood vessel to break in the eye?
Overview. A subconjunctival hemorrhage often occurs without any obvious harm to your eye. Even a strong sneeze or cough can cause a blood vessel to break in the eye. You don’t need to treat it. Your symptoms may worry you. But a subconjunctival hemorrhage is usually a harmless condition that disappears within two weeks or so.
What happens if you have blood in your eye?
Again, typically the sight of it is the most startling thing about it, as it normally does not cause any pain, discharge or changes to vision. Slight irritation, in the form of a scratchy feeling, can sometimes occur.
What should you do if you have a broken blood vessel in your eye?
While a broken blood vessel in your eye is seldom dangerous, hyphema (blood in the front chamber of the eye, between the cornea and the iris) is potentially a more serious condition, with more serious consequences. If you have a broken blood vessel in your eye, you should contact your eye doctor and schedule an appointment.
What do you call a broken blood vessel in your eye?
The official name for a broken blood vessel in your eye is a subconjunctival (sub-kon-junk-TIH-vul) hemorrhage. Broken blood vessels occur when a tiny blood vessel bursts under the clear surface of your eye (also known as the conjunctiva). Think of it as a painless bruise on your eye.
When do you know you have a blood vessel in your eye?
The term hemorrhage refers to the breakage of tiny blood vessels. Most people do not realize they have a broken blood vessel in their eye until someone tells them or they look in a mirror. This condition is not painful, and typically develops after blunt trauma to the eye. In most cases, treatment is not needed for a subconjunctival hemorrhage.
Overview. A subconjunctival hemorrhage often occurs without any obvious harm to your eye. Even a strong sneeze or cough can cause a blood vessel to break in the eye. You don’t need to treat it. Your symptoms may worry you. But a subconjunctival hemorrhage is usually a harmless condition that disappears within two weeks or so.
What causes a red spot in the eye?
The blood vessels in the eye are very small and easily breakable. When they do break, blood gets trapped under the conjunctival membranes. This creates the bright red spot that startled you when you looked in the mirror this morning. This red spot is the most common symptom of a burst blood vessel.
What to do about a popped blood vessel in your eye?
Although eye drops will not repair the burst vessel, they can help soothe the heaviness or irritation. So, what should you do about a popped blood vessel in your eye? Be as patient as possible and gentle to the eye, using eye-drops for comfort as needed. It is as simple as that!
What causes blood blisters on the eye?
While its appearance can be alarming, it isn’t a serious problem. It happens when a blood vessel in the conjunctiva (the white part of the eye) breaks and releases blood. This often tends to occur after frequent sneezing, coughing, after rubbing the eye or for no apparent reason.
What are the symptoms of a broken blood vessel in the eye?
The official name for a broken blood vessel in your eye is a subconjunctival (sub-kon-junk-TIH-vul) hemorrhage. Symptoms of this condition include: Bright red patch on the white of the eye. A slight sense of fullness in the eye or under the lid. Very mild irritation of the eye.
How long does it take for a broken blood vessel to heal?
Always remember that time can help heal the broken blood vessels since they can heal on their own but it will take some time. In most cases, the broken blood vessel can heal within 2-3 weeks.
What is the treatment for a broken blood vessel in the eye?
For most cases of the broken blood vessel in the eye, no treatment is necessary, and no eye patch is required. You may want to get some artificial tears from the drugstore if you are feeling any irritation. This may help if the eyes are also dried out as well as irritated from the broken blood vessel.