Infant Subconjunctival Hemorrhage

What are the Symptoms?

You have a few symptoms that you shouldn’t ignore when it comes to infant subconjunctival hemorrhage. Some of the potential symptoms include:

  • Bright red patch in the sclera (white area of the eye).
  • Dark red patch in the sclera.
  • The child seems to cough a lot.
  • The child vomits a lot.

In some cases, the redness may cover the entirety of the eyes. It would also be best if you kept a close eye on this because of how the severity can grow over a period of 24 hours before it begins to fade.

What Causes This Condition?

You have a few things that can cause this birth disorder. Normally, this will happen when a small blood vessel breaks in the eye, causing bleeding below the mucous membrane that covers the eye and lines the eyelid, known as the conjunctiva. In most cases, the blood will be obvious from this birth injury. Important to note, you have a couple of other things that can cause baby subconjunctival hemorrhage to happen that include:

  • The child rubs their eyes.
  • The child strained while making a bowel movement.
  • The child picked up a viral infection that they may have gotten from the mother.
  • The child has high blood pressure.
  • Certain eye injuries and surgeries can cause this condition.

This condition is fairly common in newborn infants. Some doctors believe that it happens because of the sudden pressure changes that the child goes through during the labor and delivery process.

How Do Doctors Treat This Condition?

No treatment is required for this condition as it normally clears up on its own within 2 to 3 weeks. This is not as serious of a birth injury as a condition like cerebral palsy. In some cases, doctors might recommend that you use artificial tears because of how it can lubricate the area to help with some of the pain and itchiness that the infant might experience. However, in most cases, the child won’t even experience too much pain from this condition.

While it has been said that this isn’t as serious of a condition, and it will normally clear on its own after a few weeks, you should still see a doctor if you don’t notice any improvement after this time. Your doctor has to check to see if there isn’t a more serious underlying reason for the disability. You should contact your doctor immediately after this time frame. Another thing to be aware of—don’t panic if you notice that your child’s eye turns yellow after the redness starts to clear up. Instead, it would be best to take this as a positive sign that the child has begun the normal healing process.

Article Citations

  1. MyHealth.Alberta.ca
  2. Medline Plus