How to clear up that Black Eye

Whether you walked into a door or were punched by the playground bully, a black eye can be an embarrassing, unsightly and painful reminder of the event for all to see. There is a reason these facial bruises are nicknamed "shiners", because they stick out like a harvest moon lighting up a field on a cool autumn night. Get a black eye and be ready to hear, "What happened to you?", for at least a week or more. So how can you clear up this black eye as quickly as possible? Here are some tips on how to reduce the bruising and speed up the healing time so you can get your normal, beautiful face back.

The cold, hard facts. If you have ever watched a boxing match on television, then you have probably witnessed this scene. The boxer spends 3 minutes in the ring getting punched in the face by his opponent. The bell rings to sound the end of the round and the boxer retreats to his corner for a quick rest before the next round. As soon as he sits down, a trainer slaps what looks like a small metal iron on the boxers eye. That piece of metal is actually kept "extremely cold" and is used to control the immediate hemorrhage and swelling around the eye. You see, boxing trainers know a thing or two about black eyes and they have found that extreme cold will stop the hemorrhaging and swelling under the skin that causes a black eye by constricting the blood vessels which decreases the internal bleeding. You can apply the same treatment in an emergency by using a cold soda can and holding it on the eye for 5 to 10 minutes every 15 minutes until you can get an ice pack on it. Make sure the can is clean and that it is held against the cheek, not the eye. You do not want to put pressure on the eye itself.

Have some peas with that steak. Maybe you are familiar with the old home remedy of putting a steak on a black eye. Well it works, but it has nothing to do with the meat. You see raw meat has to be kept cool or it will spoil quickly. It was the coolness of the meat that actually reduced the hemorrhaging and swelling of the eye and not the steak itself. So if you have to sacrifice a piece of food for your black eye, make it a bag of frozen peas. No kidding, if you don't have access to one of those liquid ice packs then a bag of frozen peas makes an excellent substitute. The peas in the bag will actually take on the general shape of your face while gently and evenly applying the cold were it is needed. To make your own ice pack, put crushed ice in a small plastic bag and tape it to the forehead. Taping it to the forehead prevents putting pressure on the eye, which can sometimes happen when the patient attempts to hold the ice pack on the eye themselves.

Things to avoid or you might blow it. As many of you know, aspirin is an anticoagulant, meaning it prevents blood from clotting as fast or as well as it normally would. This means if you take aspirin while treating a black eye you may have a harder time stopping the bleeding, causing more discoloration and prolonging the amount of time it will take for the black eye to disappear. If you must take a pain reliever, then take a non-aspirin brand like acetaminophen.

If the black eye was caused by a severe blow (something harder than just bumping into a wall or door), then do not blow your nose until you have seen a doctor to rule out a fracture of the bone around the eye socket. Blowing your nose while having such a fracture can sometimes cause air to be forced out of your sinuses and under your skin. This makes the eyelids swell even more and increases the chance of an infection. When in doubt, see a doctor just to be safe.