Have You Ever Had a Black Eye?

When my son was three years old, he was playing around in a bounce house at a carnival with several other children when he accidentally hit his head on an older child’s leg. He emerged from the bounce house crying, holding his head, and his nose was slightly bleeding. I gave him a dose of the homeopathic remedies Aconite 30c and Gelsemium 200c to address the fright and anxiety he was feeling, along with the homeopathic remedy Arnica Montana 200c to help with the impact to his head and the nose bleeding. Shortly after taking the homeopathic remedies, his nose stopped bleeding, and he was no longer crying. However, the owners of the bounce house insisted on us taking him to the hospital to have his nose checked out to ensure it wasn’t broken.

The doctors at the hospital confirmed that he did not break his nose, but advised us not to be alarmed by the swelling and the dark bruising resembling a raccoon mask around his eyes from hitting his head. I continued to give him Arnica a couple of times a day for the next few days, along with the homeopathic remedy Ledum to help prevent him from having the black and blue raccoon mask, which my son fortunately did not develop. Additionally, if you already have a black and blue eye, Arnica and Ledum can be administered several times a day if bruising around the eye area has occurred, to help address the dark circles around the eye(s).

What is a Black Eye?

A black eye occurs when the eye is bruised (Ecchymosis) due to a blow or injury to the face or head. This happens when the blood vessels under the skin break causing the blood to pool resulting in swelling and an eye that can appear black, blue, red, or purple.

What Can Cause a Black Eye:

• An injury to the eye (s), face, or head
• A surgical procedure near the eye or nose
• Some medical conditions or blood clotting disorders can contribute to bruising

Scratched Cornea Case Scenario

My client inquired about homeopathic remedies for scratched cornea (the clear white part of the eye that aids in focusing), because she preferred not to use the medicated eye drops prescribed by her doctor to prevent infection after he flushed her eye out with saline solution. She also mentioned that her 8-year-old daughter has sustained A scratched cornea when her brother accidentally threw a coloring book at her head while they were playing. I advised her that, in such cases like this we would use the homeopathic remedies Echinacea and Calendula to promote healing of the scratched cornea and prevent any infection. My client noted that her daughter’s I hurts because it was light sensitive and there is some tearing of the eye.

My client called back a few days later stating that the light sensitivity and tearing are gone. She asked how long they needed to continue the Echinacea 200c and the Calendula 30c in the Homeopathic Remedy Solution Bottle that her daughter was taking daily. I told my client to have her daughter continue taking the homeopathic remedies for another three or four more days to make sure the cornea is completely healed up.

Causes and Symptoms of a Corneal Abrasion Eye Injury

You can scratch your cornea by getting something in your eye such as:

• Dust, dirt, sand, pieces of wood or metal
• Scratching your eye with a tree branch, make-up brushes, applicator or your fingernail
• Contact lenses dry up in your eye

You May Experience with a Corneal Abrasion:

• Eye pain, or a sensation that feels like dust, or sand in your eye
• Red eyes
• Tearing of the eye
• Sensitivity to light
• Swollen eye(s) or eyelid(s)
• Blurred vision

Foreign Object (Splinter) in Eye

My dad was both a carpenter and a homeopath. On this particular day, while he was cutting a piece of wood, a tiny splinter flew up and lodged itself into his right eye. He never wore protective eyewear when cutting wood and he refused to go see an eye doctor, because he knew which homeopathic remedy would be effective for his eye. My dad flushed out his eye with some water to remove any other debris that might have been floating around in the eye. He then took the homeopathic remedy Silica which is used to eliminate foreign matter out of the body, along with the homeopathic remedy Echinacea to help prevent infection. He took Silica 200c and Echinacea 200c in a Homeopathic Remedy Solution Bottle once a day. By the second day the piece of wood dislodged, and his eye was no longer painful or tearing. He continued taking Silica and Echinacea for an additional two days to ensure that all the wood had been removed from his eye and there wasn’t any infection.

Common Symptoms You Can Have with an Eye Injury:

• Red eye ball
• Pain – Sharp, scratchy, burning, gritting, sandy, feeling of the eye
• Swelling of the eye or eye area
• Tearing of the eye
• Blurred vision
• Bleeding of the eye
• Twitching of the eye
• Light sensitivity

Common Types of Eye Injury

There are various ways to injure your eye in your day-to-day activities, as well as through sport injuries (i.e., boxing, football, baseball), and even domestic violence. Common causes include particles flying into your eye, falling and hitting your eye or head, chemical or radiation accidents.

• Black eye from a blow to your eye
• Blunt trauma to your eye which can fracture the bones around your eye (orbital fracture)
• A chemical, radiation or extreme heat that burns the surface of your eye
• A scratch to your cornea called a corneal abrasion
•  A foreign object goes into your eye
• A sharp object punctures your eye

You can never go wrong with taking a few doses of the homeopathic remedy Arnica Montana for any injury, including an eye injury. Arnica is an anti-inflammatory, decreases pain, even for a blood shot eye, although Phosphorus may be an alternative option. Don’t follow my dad’s example by neglecting to see an eye doctor to ensure that you don’t have any serious issues with your eyes.