Broken blood vessel in the eye

[Q-owl]

Out of the blue I've developed a red eye making my blue eye look alien. Should I be extra concerned due to possibility of GCA? I'm 7 years into PMR and recently stable on 1mg pred,

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

If you mean it looks bloodshot then it’s probably just just one of the small capillaries in the eye burst. If so, it’s quite common when on Pred, and surprised it’s the first time it’s happened, and although it looks awful it’s not harmful. You might have rubbed that eye a bit too vigorously and it should return to normal in a week or so.

If it’s still there after a couple of weeks then see optician/optometrist. [advice to me by my ophthalmologist when I happened at the beginning of my GCA journey]

[Q-owl in reply to DorsetLady]

Thanks for your speedy reply and reassurance.

[Heidi_SF]

That happened to me while visiting a city with a high altitude. The white of my left eye, on one side, turned completely blood red. I have light blue eyes so it looked especially creepy! Only happened the one time during my 7 years on pred. Cleared up fairly quickly.

[piglette]

It has happened to me a couple of times. One time some of the white went red the other time it was all the white. The last time was just before Halloween! I had never had it before PMR.

[Angelsmummy in reply to piglette]

Hope you went trick or treating with the eye P?😁💐😜

[piglette in reply to Angelsmummy]

Why didn’t I think of that? In some ways I was quite sorry when it got better as it really was a good talking point!

[Angelsmummy in reply to piglette]

I hate it,mine is still there,and aches like hell!Look like a battered wife!xx😱😁💐💐😜

[piglette in reply to Angelsmummy]

Mine was a bit painful too, but it definitely attracted attention!!

[Angelsmummy in reply to piglette]

💐😁😜

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Subconjunctival haemorrhage is the most likely answer

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

I have had two - almost certainly pred and an anticoagulant medication - but my husband had them often and had never been on pred.

[Angelsmummy]

Morning Q,I had a visit to Eye clinic on Thursday M due to same thing.Often get the Devil Red Eye,but this time I had pain the day before,felt as if someone had punched me.That next day ,the whole of white of eye turned red.The eye hospital because of my GCA and sight loss in one eye ,were on the ball and told me to get there straight away.Had scans and all manner of tests ,but all good.Funny thing,I said to the dr there,is it the Pred ,she said no!!Didnt like to query her reply!Funny thing is my dear friend Strippy on the forum had the same happen to her eye on the same day!!Just a thought ,apart from Pred,could it be air pressure,hayfever as well,pretty sure that PRO might answer this for me!Perhaps we could set up our own “ Red eye Day” in conjunction with Red Nose Day!xxxBest Wishes to you.xx😻💐😜

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Angelsmummy]

It happens - to people not on pred too. But pred DOES make capillaries more delicate. The second time it happened to me I brushed my face and felt a sharp sting in the eye and when I went to look in the mirror, lo and behold - there it was. I went to the GP as an emergency. she rang the eye dept and they were happy with our diagnosis.

[Angelsmummy in reply to PMRpro]

Cheers for that Pro,wasnt worried about the blood,had quite a few of them now just the pain that got me concerned as never experienced that before.Just look like Dracula!😳Hope you are enjoying your hols?Weather beautiful here again,hope yours is too?xx👁️💐😜

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Angelsmummy]

Not in any way shape or form! Torrential horizontal rain yesterday and today it is a howling gale with heavy showers that join up from time to time! 8C feels like 3C. No chance of doing anything outside.

[Angelsmummy in reply to PMRpro]

Oh dear,poor you!I was working in garden with bra and shorts edging flower beds,sweating like a 🐖!Ceiling fan will be on in bedroom tonight!Shouldnt rub it in should I?😁🌞😜

[Daffodilia]

I get that when I rub my eyes cos they are dry - I use Thealoz Duo eye drops 4 times a day - recommended by optician who said dry eyes probably caused by PMR - so that’s why you rub them

[ChrisBeeLoop]

Yes, I get them as well. The last one took longer than usual to clear up so I actually went to the GP (not my normal one) but she was relaxed about it, although she did show a lot of interest in how I was feeling generally. Always worth putting your mind at rest.

[pata63 in reply to ChrisBeeLoop]

Ditto. I went to the Accident and Emergency place around the corner. I think this is my 9th since 2019 but I'd have to check all my diaries to be sure of the count. The first one had me off to my GP right away, but over the years I've become used to them. This one was much worse and the sclera felt a little swollen. I had never felt anything in the previous episodes. It happened overnight on 5-Mar-25 and my vision was thoroughly checked out one day later. A week later I went to see my GP and he put me on MAXITROL eye ointment for 10 days. The swelling went down after that, and as I type this (30-Mar-25) there is just a little red remaining near the iris. That is one thing which is different about this episode. All the others retreated to the outer edge and that area was the last to clear.

I'm currently on 10mg per day of Prednisone, and my Rheumatologist started me on weekly Methotrexate 20mg on Mondays. This happened in week 4 of MTX, and tomorrow I take MTX number 8. I owe this group I nice report on what was happening from December 2024, but I haven't been able to get my brain organized to create a nice graph in R of what was going on.