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How to Get Rid of a Black Eye
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Oh, The Pain!
Maybe you just got slammed in the eye a few minutes ago and you haven’t actually gotten a black eye yet, but expect one shortly. While you’re waiting, you might as well deal with the pain and swelling.
A black eye is the result of a contusion, which is a fancy name for a bruise. Bruises occur whenever your body takes a sharp blow that breaks capillaries and causes blood to leak into surrounding tissues, collecting at the point of damage. Eventually, when blood leaks into the top layer of skin, it shows as purple. For some reason, when you get that purple bruising around an eye, people call it a black eye. We suppose “purple eye” just didn’t sound right. And “black eye” is easier to remember than “bruising around the eye.”
How to Treat a Black Eye
- If you control the swelling in the area, you’ll also help control the pain. That means applying something cold to the eye. This could be:
- Ice wrapped in a towel
- A gel pack you have kept in the fridge for such occasions
- A bag of frozen peas
- Sticking your face in a snow bank (not easy if it’s summer and you’re in Orlando).
- Apply the cold compresses 10 minutes on your face, 10 to 15 minutes off. Ice should be covered with a towel to protect your eyelid, where the skin is pretty thin. In fact, it’s better to apply the compresses to your cheek, not the lid, to avoid further damage.
- Keep this routine going with the cold compresses for the next day or two. Boring? Of course, but you should have thought of that before you got the black eye.
- Treat the inflammation. Use acetaminophen. Avoid aspirin, as that thins the blood, and what you’re hoping to do is to get the blood to clot and stop leaking into surrounding tissues.
- Take large doses of Vitamin C for the next five days; this has been shown to promote healing of contusions.
- After one or two days, switch from cold compresses to warm compresses.
- Try to control sneezing (like, don’t sniff ground black pepper) and don’t blow your nose for several days. In the event the bone around the eye has had some minor fracturing, expelling air forcefully from your nose will also force air out of sinuses near the socket, injecting it under your skin. Like most injections, this doesn’t feel good. Moreover, it may also cause additional swelling and increase the possibility of infection.
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Black Eye Remedies
Black eyes commonly last for about a week. Should the above procedure not put you on the road to wellness after a few days, see a doctor. And certainly see a doctor if the blow to your anatomy results in blurred vision, pain in and around the eye, light sensitivity, or “floaters” in your field of vision. You may have gotten a concussion or done some serious damage to your eye. Also see the doc if any of the following show up in the next few days:
- Eye pain that’s something more than the usual sensitivity from a bruise
- Increased redness
- Changes in vision
- Drainage from the eye
- Visible problems with the eyeball, such as bleeding
A few home remedies have been applied over the years. A century ago, leeches were put on your face to suck out the blood. (Just think of the reception you would get from your buddies coming into the office with a leech hanging from your cheek.) Then putting raw beefsteak on the black eye became all the rage. Some people still swear by that treatment, though they may not know the reason why it works – because the steak is cold coming out of refrigeration; a bag of frozen peas does the same thing and doesn’t cost $8 a pound.
As for the embarrassment of explaining a black eye (people always assume, for some reason, it’s the result of a well-placed knuckle sandwich), work on some excuses ahead of time. It’s very nearly impossible to cover one up with make-up.
Admittedly, you could try wearing an eye patch or sporting dark glasses everywhere you go, but then you would have to explain the patch or the shades, especially when you’re wearing them to business meetings. White theatrical greasepaint applied liberally to the entire face might work to cover that shiner, but mimes are even less welcome in business meetings than pirates or people with sunshades.
Resources:
- Mother Nature.com: “Black Eye.”
at big hollow school in Round lake,IL they have ice packs. ask them to give you a ice pack.
…Allison… I BELIEVE YOU. My family has enjoyed a month of looking for one of our cordless phones. During the interim, we moved one from another room to where the missing-in-action (MIA)) phone was located. Last night the MIA phone was found and this morning when I attempted to return the borrowed phone to it’s proper location, I bent down to unplug it and smacked my face into the corner of a wooden speaker. (truly painful) Guess What? I have an interview in 2 hours, go figure! That is why I am looking for a quick fix for swelling and discloration…..Oh yeah, this is really going to be great because there are a few people who know that my husband and I have recently had differences; however, PHYSICAL VIOLENCE IS NOT AN ISSUE.
I got a black eye but you should see the other guy!!!
So I found out that using Witch hazel helps a blck eye go away very fast I simply rubbed around my eye through out the day and within in a week it was gone! I was told it would take about 2 weeks to a month but I got a tip from a friend and it really worked!!!
Wow, so many people around here have people thinking they’re abused
I gave my brother a black eye accidentally a few days ago and all he’s doing is enjoying the attention.
ok so I have my interview in 2 days and I have a blackeye, got a sucker punch from a buddy. and I am a cabincrew. Now I really don’t know what to do.. any advice?
okay so i got in a car wreck and now i have a black eye. i work at a public place and everyone at my work, thinks i was abuised.. sucks really bad.
Hi: Has anyone ever tried anything that helped reduce eye floaters? They are common but is there anything that actually works? I am trying apple pectin and multivitamins; do they help you not to see them that often? Thanks
OKay so I have no tips. I was recently in a collision..the air bag deployed..and hit me in the face. My right eye is now surrounded by this deep burgandy/purple looking bruise. I work in a resturant..I need this to go away ASAP…what the heck do I do? Cant serve food to people looking like Rocky Balboa if you know what I mean. I’m in my early 20’s and this job is my only source of income..my boss is cool w/ my taking time off to heal..but my land lord or the power company doesnt give a **** that I was in a collision and had to be outta work for a air bagged induced BLACK EYE..So do you have any suggestions..I really need this thing to be as invisible as possible w/in 3 or 4 days..PLEASE HELP!!!!!
The best way is to boil hot water get you a cloth towel and a tea bag it works like magic
Okay, I’ve tried it all. Last friday, at 3am, my phone rang. I picked it up of my nightstand, then dropped it on the floor…. Then I got up and saw it on the floor at the end of my bed, I bent over to pick it up and “THWACK!!!” I hit my left eye on the square poster of my bed. “OUCH” doesn’t even cover it!! To top it all off, I’m an actress, this weekend was the biggest film fest in my state, and I was an award presenter and guest speaker. My shiner looked great with my yellow evening gown. And, of course, no one believed my story- they all think that my boyfriend has been smacking me around. There’s no real way around a black eye….. just come up with some handy jokes and get used to people staring at you…. and after staring at you your significant other…
Hey might I advise that Christina does have the right idea. And also, steak does take away the bruising faster. I tried it. Also put a big spoon (not a tea spoon, the next size bigger) and put it in the freezer over night, and when you wake up the next day, put it over your black eye where ever it’s bruised, and leave it on there until the spoon isn’t cold anymore. Do this for the next 5 days.
Stay out of trouble. Getting ur a$$ kicked isn’t fun. I have 11 kids, and they’re not dumb like most kids.
My oldest is 27. My youngest is 13. So parents out there, don’t be stupid and learn to be a parent, and step up to be a good parent. There are some really dumb parents out there.
Just stay the **** out of trouble and don’t get beat up! Simple as that.
Well, one tip that I have is, yeah, don’t sleep on the side that the bruise is on, but one thing that will help is cover up. It’s proven to make bruises go away faster. Also, Vitamin C, and ice packs.
take up boxing i did and never looked back made me more confident, fitter, faster, block a punch give and take a punch the main one for me is disaplin and respect. doesnt always cure a black eye thow
This website saved my ***! In order to get rid of a hickie you need to get a marker cap, chapstick tube or something like that. Then you put it on the affected area and twist several times (depending on how bad it is). After that put a spoon in the freezer. After it is cold take it out and put it on the spot until the spoon turns warm.
The teens have it figured out under: How to Get Rid of Hickies on this site, there are great entries there….particularly massaging area in an upward motion, arnica cream, using hot then cold compress, green coverup and lastly they swear by toothpaste and deodorant.
PS entries are also entertaining and misspelt
Make sure you add slight pressure to the cold compress or whatever you’re putting on your black eye because you might get a bump if you don’t and if you get a black eye before an important occasion hard boil an egg and wait for it to cool down until it’s not to hot to put it on your black eye.