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June 20, 2013
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Black Eye (cont.)

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Black Eye Treatment

Self-Care at Home

Rest and ice applied early after the injury help to decrease swelling and pain.

  • Ice helps to decrease swelling by constricting blood vessels, by decreasing fluid accumulation, and by cooling and numbing the area.
    • Apply ice for 20 minutes an hour every hour while awake, for the first 24 hours. Ice should not be applied directly to the injury.

    • To avoid potential cold injury to the site, wrap the ice in a cloth or use a commercial ice pack. A bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a cloth makes a good ice pack.
  • Protect the area from further injury. Avoid athletic or other possibly injurious activities until the eye has healed.
  • Do not put a steak or a piece of raw meat on a black eye. No scientific evidence supports this treatment. Putting potentially bacteria-laden meat on a mucous membrane or an open skin injury can be dangerous.

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Black Eye - Treatment

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Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Orbital Fracture, Floor »

Orbital floor fractures may result when a blunt object, which is of equal or greater diameter than the orbital aperture, strikes the eye.

Read More on Medscape Reference »


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