red part on eye increasing after hit by a ball

[sharathm]

yesterday i was playing racquet ball my partner accidentally hit the ball to my eye,first eye swelled and it gradually increased.the red skin is moving on the white part of eye when i tried to move it.the red part part is increasing now.after 20 hrs. is it a serious problem what should i do?

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear sharathm,

It is advisable to get your eye checked.  Eye injuries following racquetball can be serious.  Sometimes, one can develop bleeding inside the eye, inflammation and later on, glaucoma. What you describe sounds like a subconjunctival hemorrhage, but I would definitely recommend an immediate examination.  Also, in the future, it is important to make sure that you wear eye protection, such as RexSpecs.

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

[sharathm]

the pain for me in the eye is gone, and the red part stopped expanding, and i can see without any blurriness but the red spot in the eye is staying like that only.

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

Please see an EyeMD Ophthalmologist right away.  It could possibly be a serious problem just from your description of being hit in the eye by a raquetball.  It's kind of like telling me you got hit by a car.  Surely I would recommend seeing a doctor right away.  Raquetballs are notorious for causing serious eye injuries.  Remember to always wear eye protection because if the ball doesn't hit you a raquet will.

MJK MD