Blunt trauma to your eye can cause an injury known as a bruised retina, or commotio retinae. This usually heals on its own within a week or up to a month, though that largely depends on how severe the initial injury was.

If a ball hits you in the eye, you may experience an injury known as a bruised retina.

This type of trauma can be painful and lead to brief vision loss, depending on how severely your eye is injured. While it can affect your vision for a period of time, this often heals on its own.

You may need to visit an eye doctor or specialist to evaluate your eye condition and closely monitor the healing over time, if it isn’t resolving on its own.

Known medically as commotio retinae, a bruised retina occurs when blunt trauma is sustained to the retina, the light-sensitive layer in the back of the eyeball.

As the retina is inelastic, it absorbs the full effect of shock to the eye. This causes injuries to the layers mostly in the area that is vital for how your vision works.

Symptoms may include:

  • varying pain, depending on how severe the injury
  • blurry vision
  • partial vision loss
  • difficulty seeing around when looking at one spot and not moving the eye around
  • possible gray-white glistening in that eye, caused by increased scattering of light in the affected area of the retina
  • an area that looks red or white

If the injury involves the macula, it’s known as Berlin’s edema.

It’s not clear on how or why this develops, but some researchers have theorized it could be a result of swollen nerve fibers while others suggest results of the blunt trauma affect the blood-retinal barrier being damaged.

Not much recent research exists on this particular type of eye injury, as some of the earliest clinical study findings date back to 1873. Some research suggests that more severe instances of bruised retina may lead to permanent pigment change in the eye, and some lasting visual affects.

Largely, this type of eye injury occurs as a result of some type of blunt force trauma to the eye.

While that can happen to anyone for any number of reasons, research highlights that people involved in high-contact sports or bystanders at sporting events often present a high risk for bruised retina.

Workplace injury may be another possible cause. Eye care guideliens suggest safety glasses or protective eye gear as a key step to help prevent eye trauma.

Yes, the ocular trauma causing a bruised retina may lead to other eye health concerns.

This might include retinal detachment, when the retina separates from the back of the eye and causes vision loss that may be partial or total.

The retina, which is located at the back of the eye, converts the image to signals that it sends to your brain through the optic nerve. The retina works with the cornea, lens, and other parts of your eye and brain to produce normal vision.

Symptoms of retinal detachment may include:

  • blurred vision
  • partial vision loss, which makes it seem as if a curtain has been pulled across your field of vision, with a dark shadowing effect
  • sudden flashes of light in your vision
  • suddenly seeing many floaters, which are small bits of debris that appear as black flecks or strings floating before your eye

An opthamologist can help determine how severe an eye injury is and what treatment may be best for you.

There isn’t specific medication or treatment for a bruised retina.

This American Academy of Opthalmalogy case report article suggests that some specialists might prescribe steroid drops, to help reduce retinal swelling.

The University of Michigan’s Kellogg Eye Center indicates that most people fully heal at 3 to 4 weeks, though that can depend on the severity of the initial trauma and how severe the eye damage was.

Anecdotal evidence suggests full healing and visual recovery may continue and take up to 2 months,.

A bruised retina can develop as a result of trauma and injury to the eye, specifically the retina or the macula.

While there isn’t a specific treatment, this eye injury typically heals on its own within a month. This can largely depend on the initial trauma and how severe it was. There is a chance of other eye complications, including retinal detachment.

Eye protection for those most at risk is the best way to prevent this injury. Your eye doctor can best evaluate the extent of any eye injury and guide you on treatment and recovery time.