bruised eye

My son was assaulted by 3 men and hit in the eye he recv'd a cut in the eyebrow and a severe bruise to his eye on April 15th. The bruise had healed up somewhat but never went away and now the bruise is getting worse. His top eyelid is a deep purple and it's been two and a half months. Is it normal for a bruise on the eye to take this long to heal.

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear evelyn1953,

I would recommend that he seek the care of an eyeMD.  It is possible that a blood vessel has bled or he has an injury elsewhere.  Eye rubbing, straining, aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications may reduce clotting time or bleeding.

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California