Hyphema

I nearly forgot about the last gory eye picture. Bree was the winner of the Hollywood Theatre tickets for two and as a bonus, a Crabby Pattie.

The photo showed that the cornea, that front clear layer of the eye is normal. But the front chamber of the eye -- that space between the cornea and the iris -- is full of blood. That's why you can't see the colored iris or the pupil. Blood inside the front chamber of the eye is called a hyphema. He has a finding that threw most of you for a loop, and that was an air bubble floating up there at the top of the chamber. I put the air bubble there by sticking a needle into the chamber and injecting the air to try to tamponade the bleeding. The yellow-green stuff on the lashes is a dye that is used during the exam to help assess the surface of the eye and to check the pressure inside the eye. The white part of the eye is red just from the general trauma.

Hyphemas usually do well, clearing themselves over a week or two. The dangers are that the blood can clog the eye's drainage system, causing a high intraocular pressure, or that the blood can be there so long that it stains the cornea. This young man did well, with his vision returning to normal over two weeks.