The vitreous is the clear, thick gel inside your eye. A vitreous hemorrhage (VH) means there is some blood in it. Blood in the vitreous can happen for many reasons.
Light needs to pass through the clear vitreous gel to reach your retina. This is how you see things. If the vitreous has a lot of blood in it, this can blur or block your eyesight.
You may have changes in your eyesight such as:
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Blurriness
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Floating shadows
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Red tint
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Blocked vision
The bleeding may be caused by any of these:
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Growth of new blood vessels. Many things can cause new blood vessels to grow on the retina. The blood vessels often bleed. The most common cause of new blood vessels is diabetes. Other causes include sickle cell disease, vasculitis, retinopathy of prematurity, and other conditions.
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Injury. Bleeding in the vitreous can happen from the eye being hit or pierced. Eye injury is the most common cause of VH in people younger than 40.
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Retinal tear. A torn retina may damage blood vessels. This needs to be treated right away to prevent permanent loss of eyesight.
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An eye disease. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and other eye diseases can cause bleeding.
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Blood disorders. Blood cancer, anemia, hemophilia, and other blood diseases can cause bleeding in the eye.
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Heavy lifting, coughing, or vomiting. These can cause pressure in the head that makes blood vessels in the eyes rupture and bleed.
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Eye surgery. Some kinds of eye surgery may cause bleeding in the vitreous.
Home care
Treatment depends on the cause of the bleeding. Your healthcare provider will tell you if you need surgery or other treatment for the cause of the bleeding.
Once the bleeding has stopped, the blood will likely go away on its own. This can take a few weeks.
During this time:
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Sleep with your head propped up. This helps the blood settle below the area of your vision.
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Don't do heavy activity for a few days. This helps give the blood vessels time to heal and not bleed more.
Follow-up care
Follow up with your healthcare provider.
When to get medical care
See a healthcare provider right away if you have any of these:
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Bleeding that gets worse
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Pain
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Changes in vision
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Other new symptoms or symptoms that get worse
Date Last Reviewed: 04/01/2024
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