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Black Eye Center - Lancaster, PA

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Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Black Eye

Black eye introduction

A black eye often results from injury to the face or the head, and is caused when blood and other fluids collect in the space around the eye. Swelling and dark discoloration result in a "black eye" ? sometimes called a "shiner."

Most black eyes are relatively minor injuries. Many heal on their own in a few days, but they may signify a more serious injury.

Despite the name, "black eye," the eye itself is not usually injured. The tissues around the eye may be significantly discolored and swollen without any injury to the eye itself, like a bruise (ecchymosis) around the eye.

The skin around the eye is very loose, with mostly fat underneath it and fluid accumulates easily in this area. The skin around the eye is one of the first places to swell when the facial area is injured. Depending on the location and type of injury, one or both eyes may be affected. Injuries to the eye brow and forehead area often result in black eyes because gravity pulls the blood and inflammatory fluid into the soft tissues under and around the eyes.

As a black eye heals, the swelling around the eye decreases, and the bruise gradually fades away. The bruising will usually start out a very dark purple, and as it fades, it may change to light purple, then greenish, then yellow before disappearing.

What causes a black eye?

The most common cause of a black eye is a blow to the eye, nose, or forehead. Depending on where the blow lands, one or both eyes may be affected.

A blow to the nose often causes both eyes to swell because the swelling from the nasal injury causes fluid to collect in the loose tissues of the eyelids.

Other causes of black eye include:

  • surgical procedures to the face, such as a facelift, jaw surgery, or nose surgery;
  • a certain type of head injury, called a basilar skull fracture, ...

Recommended Reading Related to Black Eye

Septoplasty and Turbinectomy »

Septoplasty and turbinectomy facts*

*Septoplasty and turbinectomy facts Medically Edited by: Charles P. Davis, MD, PhD

  • Septoplasty is surgery to correct a deformity in the nasal septum. Turbinectomy is the surgical reduction or removal of an enlarged turbinate (nasal tissue) inside the nose. Both surgeries are done mainly to improve airflow or improve sinus drainage but may have other purposes such as nosebleed control.
  • There are risks and complications for all surgeries; those for septoplasty and turbinectomy surgeries are infrequent but include the following: nasal obstruction, bleeding, chronic nasal drainage, eye damage, numbness of facial structures, septal perforation, alteration of sense of smell or taste, and failure to resolve any associated nasal or sinus problem.
  • Before these surgeries, the patient needs to have their doctors (surgeon and anesthesiologist) design a plan of preparation (for example, wh...

Emergency Contact for Lancaster

  • In case of Emergency, call 911

Nearby Lancaster Hospitals *

Lancaster General Hospital
555 N Duke St
Lancaster, PA 17604
(717)544-5511

Lancaster Regional Medical Center
250 College Ave
Lancaster, PA 17603
(717)291-8211

Lancaster General Women & Babies Hospital
690 Good Dr
Lancaster, PA 17604
(717)544-3700

Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital
675 Good Dr
Lancaster, PA 17604
(717)394-7500

Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center
1500 Highlands Dr
Lititz, PA 17543
(717)625-5000

Ephrata Community Hospital
169 Martin Ave
Ephrata, PA 17522
(717)733-0311

Lebanon VA Medical Center
1700 S Lincoln Ave
Lebanon, PA 17042
(717)272-6621

The Good Samaritan Hospital
4th & Walnut Sts
Lebanon, PA 17042
(717)270-7500

Memorial Hospital
325 S Belmont St
York, PA 17403
(717)843-8623

Philhaven
283 S Butler Rd
Mount Gretna, PA 17064
(717)273-8871

Wernersville State Hospital
Rte 422 & Sportsman Rd
Wernersville, PA 19565
(610)678-3411

York Hospital
1001 S George St
York, PA 17403
(717)851-2345

Penn State Children's Hospital
500 University Dr
Hershey, PA 17033
(717)531-8521

Penn State Hershey Medical Center
500 University Dr
Hershey, PA 17033
(717)531-8521

HEALTHSOUTH Rehabilitation Hospital of York
1850 Normandie Dr
York, PA 17408
(717)767-6941

HEALTHSOUTH Reading Rehabilitation Hospital
1623 Morgantown Rd
Reading, PA 19607
(610)796-6000

Jennersville Regional Hospital
1015 W Baltimore Pike
West Grove, PA 19390
(610)869-1000

Coatesville VA Medical Center
1400 Black Horse Hill Rd
Coatesville, PA 19320
(610)384-7711

Brandywine Hospital
201 Reeceville Rd
Coatesville, PA 19320
(610)383-8000

The Reading Hospital & Medical Center
6th Ave & Spruce St
Reading, PA 19612
(610)988-8000

St Joseph Medical Center
2500 Bernville Rd
Reading, PA 19605
(610)378-2000

Community General Osteopathic Hospital Pinnacle Health
4300 Londonderry Rd
Harrisburg, PA 17109
(717)652-3000

Helen M Simpson Rehabilitation Hospital
4300 Londonderry Rd
Harrisburg, PA 17109
(717)920-4300

Saint John Vianney Hospital
151 Woodbine Rd
Downingtown, PA 19335
(610)269-2600

Harrisburg Hospital
111 S Front St
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717)782-3131

Upper Chesapeake Medical Center
500 Upper Chesapeake Dr
Bel Air, MD 21014
(443)643-1000

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