What causes red in the white part of the eye?

Question

My husband woke up one morning with what looks like busted blood vessels in his left eye. It seems to be getting worse after three days and he said he feels a little dizzy, now. The day before, we went swimming, he was on the computer for a long time, and we had some pretty vigorous sex for about an hour. Could any of these cause it? We don't have health insurance at the moment, so I would love to know if it is life threatening before we go to the doctor.

Answer 1

Eye hemorrhages are not that uncommon. They're similar to having a bruise in the eye - so you can see the blood instead of looking at it through the non-opaque skin. So just like a bruise, the blood will go through stages as it reabsorbs. Also, in the eye, it will usually start to fall more inferiorly because of gravity.
If the dizziness continues, I would take him to a doctor. It would be better to make payments and have peace of mind than to risk his health. Good luck

Answer 2

PTERYGIUM

A Pterygium is a non-malignant tumor that frequently grows on the nasal side of the eye. It appears as a whitish-yellowish bump or a fleshy "growth" on the exposed conjunctiva (the visible white part) of the eye. If the bump appears only on the white part of the eye, it is called a pinguecula. If it appears to "grow" onto the cornea, forming a winglike structure, it is called a pterygium. A pterygium has a rounded apical "head" advancing toward the cornea centre and a triangular "body" of thickened conjunctiva. It is situated on the outside of the eye and can be seen with the naked eye. A pterygium may be small or grow large enough to interfere with vision.

Causes
Pterygia occur more commonly where people live outdoors most of the time, and are exposed to wind, dust and particularly ultra-violet rays from the sun. Heredity is also thought to play a factor in their development. Pterygia are more often seen in people from tropical climates, but can be found in others as well.

Symptoms
Pterygia are often asymptomatic, however some pterygia become red and inflamed from time to time. Symptoms may include blurred vision, irritation or complaints of dry eyes.
Large or thick pterygia may bother some people due to a persistent foreign body sensation in the eyes.

Treatment
Prevention measures are by far the best methods of treatment. Prevention includes wearing hats and sunglasses when outdoors on windy or sunny days. If pterygia become red and irritated, topical eyedrops or ointments may be used to help reduce the inflammation. Pterygia must be removed surgically if their inward growth threatens to impair vision. The surgery is performed by simply removing the pterygium with a knife, and scraping away all its remnants. In its place, a normal section of the conjunctiva is transplanted into the site. Or alternatively, an anti-growth factor is applied to the area. These are both done to prevent regrowth of the pterygia. Your eye care professional will monitor your pterygia on a regular basis and suggest the best possible treatment for your condition.

Answer 3

The pool could cause the broken capillary in the eye, but with the getting dizzy, it could be something else. Water pressure pushing on the lower pressure in the head can cause burst capillaries and the blood will flow into the white of the eyes if the capillary is in the eye. It isn't dangerous to the person and it goes away in a few weeks. I had that happen while scuba diving many years ago, and it went away once the body absorbed the blood again.

Answer 4

there are a number of irritants the cause this effect--the best thing to do is get some eyedrops to keep your eye moist, and then also make an appointment. The eye is very resilient, but also very sensitive--a doctor would best be able to diagnose what's going on. With eyes, problems won't always be life threatening, but you can lose your vision if you don't address the problem. If you're concerned about money, try moisturizing eye drops first. If his eye is still irritated after that, I'd go to the doctor.

Answer 5

It may be just the pink eye, it has happened to me like that before. It also could be the cholorine in the pool in which he went swimming and the computer can do it too. But, if he doesn't feel better in another day or two he may have to go see the doctor. Here is a website and it also has been eye conditions at the bottom of the page that may help you more.

Answer 6

well it is a blood vessel that broke in the eye and sometimes it takes a day or two to look it's worst, what concerns me is the dizziness you say he had along with it. If he doesn't improve I'd take him in to the doctor, I'm not a professional but it could be his blood pressure is real high. Maybe the first place to start would be to go to the drug store that has one of those self testing blood pressure machines and see where he's at on that.

Answer 7

Usually broken blood vessels, like you thought. The issue is what caused it and is it getting worse or better. The swimming could be the culprit - especially if he was diving in and could have hit the water wrong. If he feels pressure in his eye, if his vision gets cloudy or things look pink - that could mean bleeding inside the eyeball - potentially big trouble. Anyway - I am not a doctor - just repeating the things I've heard. It shouldn't cost that much to get it checked out - especially compared to possibly losing vision or worse.

Answer 8

If the white part of your eye is red, then it's not white... and I think it might be pink eye or something like that.

Answer 9

That is caused by too much blood getting to the brain. Dizziness is anyway. The red is blood vessels and are a sign of over circulation in the brain.

Answer 10

The chlorine in the swimming pool may have made his eye red and itchy, and staring at a screen for ages will make your eyes and brain hurt. Or it could just be an eye infection.