Dear Doc,
My friend has a very prominent redness in one eye. It appeared there recently. He was not hit in his eye, and he said he woke up one morning and found it like that. Could it be that capillaries burst in his eye? Is it dangerous? – Vadney Dear Vadney,
Redness in the eye can be many things. It can be ruptured blood vessels such as a haemorrhage, often the result of trauma or it can be conjunctivitis which is inflamed blood vessels and this has a number of causes such as bacterial or viral infections or an allergic reaction. This would require a thorough history and physical examination by a medical doctor; as one very significant cause of redness in the eye is glaucoma, a condition of seniors, that is the over 65-year-old population and requires ophthalmological consultation. Glaucoma is increased pressure in the eye and can affect vision, if untreated can lead to blindness. Glaucoma is common in our population, usually in older individuals but there are exceptions in the young.
