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· 02 Feb 2022

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Why Do Blood Vessels Burst in the Eye?

Bursting of the eye blood vessels is a common problem most people experience every day. The condition has many causes and, in most cases, it is rarely serious. Anytime you see your eyes having some red patches, it means that you could have eye bleeding. This bursting may be because of many factors such as trauma, injury to the eye, some underlying medical conditions such as hypertension and infections. Burst blood vessels may make the white part of the eye appear red and you may have red spots within it. To properly understand this, it is important to get the basic anatomy of the eye first. Your eye is a special organ and, just like many others, it is surrounded by many blood vessels. Most of these blood vessels are usually very tiny and carry a major role in supplying the eye cells with nutrients and oxygen. The eye is also made up of different parts, such as the conjunctiva, iris, pupil, cornea, retina, sclera, and others. The optic nerve(which carries visual messages to the brain and back) lies at the back of the eye, and any damage to this nerve results in vision loss. Injury to any of these parts of the eye may cause bleeding, which can then lead to more complex problems when not treated on time. Ideally, there are three types of eye-bleeding:


Subconjunctival Haemorrhage. This type of hemorrhage happens in the clear outer part of the eye, known as the conjunctiva. Conjunctiva is usually a delicate part of the eye and contains many tiny blood vessels that you cannot see using the naked eye. Subconjunctival hemorrhage happens after an underlying blood vessel in the conjunctiva bursts. Because this blood has nowhere to go, it gets trapped within the blood vessel or in the sclera (the white outer coating of the eye). This type of bleeding is usually harmless and clears on its own after a few days.


Hyphema. This is bleeding that occurs in the iris and pupil, two parts of the eye that are dark-colored. The blood usually collects within the iris, pupil, and cornea (cloudless dome covering of the eye) causing red patches in the eye. A hyphema usually shows up after damage to the iris or the pupil. Hyphema can affect your vision, depending on the severity of the damage, and when not treated, it can cause permanent vision loss. Unlike subconjunctival hemorrhage, hyphema causes extreme pain.


Deeper Eye Haemorrhage. This is the blood vessels bursting that happen deeper within the eye. In most cases, the bleeding may not be visible on the surface of the eye, although it may cause eye redness. Deeper eye-bleeding may be categorized into a vitreous hemorrhage, subretinal hemorrhage, and submacular hemorrhage.

Causes of Ruptured Blood Vessels

Trauma. Our eyes comprise tiny and delicate blood vessels. These micro blood vessels are usually very prone to bursting even at small pressures. Any activity that causes trauma to the eye, such as sneezing, vomiting, and coughing, can cause ruptured blood vessels. Also, over-jerking your head, wearing contact lenses, vomiting, and straining during constipation can as well rupture a delicate blood vessel in the eye. To help you understand, let us use a perfect example of sneezing. This is a process that involves a sudden burst of air expulsion from the lungs through the nose and mouth. This abrupt process exerts pressure on various organs, such as the eyes and ears, and rupture tiny blood vessels. Researchers have reported that young children with asthma and whooping cough are prone to ruptured conjunctiva because of excessive coughing and sneezing. Also, injuries to the head, eye, and head can cause the same problem.


Some Types of Medications. There are many types of medications in the world today. Each one of these drugs usually has side effects depending on how potent the drug is. There are side effects that can be simple, such as having a dry mouth to the most severe complications that cause an allergic reaction and even death. Scientists over the years have discovered that some blood-thinning medications increase your risk of having ruptured blood vessels. Ideally, blood-thinning medications are prescribed to prevent blood clot formation within the body. They may make your blood so thin and, upon a slight pressure or injury, this factor triggers rupturing of the delicate blood vessels in the eye. Heparin, Warfarin, interferon, and some types of supplements such as vitamin E increase your risk of eye bleeding.


Medical Conditions. Suffering from some medical conditions may put you at a higher risk of developing ruptured blood vessels and bleeding. Some of these conditions weaken the eye to various degrees, weakening them and exposing them to bleeding. One good example of such a condition is diabetes. Diabetes happens when the body cannot regulate glucose levels and the condition is linked to many other health problems. This causes diabetes retinopathy, which is usually a diabetes complication and affects the eyes. It happens when there is damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (retina). It may not cause a serious vision problem at first, but with time, diabetic patients may end up having blindness. Another common condition is hypertension, which is defined as elevated blood pressure above 140/90. It damages the tiny, delicate blood vessels that supply blood to the eyes, causing retinopathy, which is the damage to the blood vessels in the retina (a part that detects light, turns it into electrical signals, and communicates with the brain to produce vision). Examples of other health conditions related to ruptured blood vessels in the eyes are sickle cell retinopathy, aneurysm, age-related macular degeneration, and central retinal vein blockage.


The Bottom Line. Ruptured blood vessels in the eye have many causes. Rupture of the blood vessels causes bleeding, and this causes red patches in the eye. This problem can have many causes, including trauma, some blood-thinning medications, and infections. In most cases, ruptured blood vessels heal on their own, depending on the cause. If the bleeding is occurring within the conjunctiva, it can cleat within 2-3 weeks. Deeper hemorrhages may require a comprehensive medical examination and treatment to help reduce the chances of complications and restore normal eye function. However, rupture because of health conditions like diabetes and hypertension may not go away because these diseases have no cure. Again, even if there are few treatment options in diabetes and hypertension, for example, managing the symptoms can help prevent damage to the blood vessels of the eyes and reduce the risk of vision loss. Click here to find more information:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/subconjunctival-hemorrhage/symptoms-causes/syc-20353826 
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/burst-blood-vessel-in-the-eye#causes