Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsEye BleedHigh Bilirubin LevelsLeptospirosisAlcohol UsePancreatitisHemolytic Anemia
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Eye Bleed
High Bilirubin Levels
Leptospirosis
Alcohol Use
Pancreatitis
Hemolytic Anemia
In addition to jaundice, yellow eyes can have other causes, such as bleeding in the eye.
This article will discuss more about potential causes of yellow eyes and how you can treat it.
Verywell / Cindy Chung
What Is Jaundice?
Subconjunctival Hemorrhage (Eye Bleed)
An eye bleed (subconjunctival hemorrhage) can look like a bright red pool of blood in your eye.As the blood breaks down and is cleared from the eye, it can turn yellow. This gives your healing eye a yellowish look.
If the vessels break, blood leaks and fills the space between the conjunctiva and the sclera. If the leak is small, a part of your eye may look discolored—maybe yellow or a little red. If the leak is big, the entire white part of your eye can look bright red.
A blood leak usually does not hurt or cause vision changes, but it can cause itching. You might notice a scratchy feeling when you blink.
Causes of Blood in the White of the Eye (Subconjunctival Hemorrhage)
Causes
Occasionally, an eye bleed is a warning sign of a condition like diabetes, hypertension, bleeding or blood disorders, leukemia, orsickle cell disease.
An eye specialist can look at the eye and figure out what is causing the discoloration.
Why Are My Eyes Red?
Treatment
Most cases of subconjunctival hemorrhage get better on their own without treatment. If the scratchy feeling in your eye is bothersome,artificial tearscan help.
The redness in your eye may turn to a yellow-orange color, then pink, then back to white again. While it can be odd, know that the color change from the blood in your eye is not permanent.
If just one eye turns red, then yellow, it may be due to a burst blood vessel. This can signal other health problems—or not. It may be a simple eye bleed.But if both eyes are yellow, you need to seek medical attention. In all cases, the sooner a healthcare provider helps you to identify the cause, the faster you’ll be treated.
If just one eye turns red, then yellow, it may be due to a burst blood vessel. This can signal other health problems—or not. It may be a simple eye bleed.
But if both eyes are yellow, you need to seek medical attention. In all cases, the sooner a healthcare provider helps you to identify the cause, the faster you’ll be treated.
What to Do If You Have Blood In Your Eye
Hyperbilirubinemia
Having too muchbilirubinin your blood (a condition calledhyperbilirubinemia)can also make your eyes and skin appear yellow.
What Bilirubin Does In Your Body
When an abnormally high number of red blood cells is being broken down, bilirubin can build up quickly in the body.
Medical conditions can cause bilirubin levels to be higher than normal, including:
Certain over-the-counter (OTC) medications, prescription medications, or herbal supplements can also affect the liver, especially when they’re taken for a long time.
Symptoms of High Bilirubin Levels
Healthcare providers can use blood tests called liver function tests to check for liver problems. They can also order imaging tests to look at the liver and any other organs that might not be working as they should be.
The treatment for high bilirubin will depend on what’s causing the buildup.
For example, it might be enough to stop or change medications. If a bile duct is blocked, this can usually be fixed with surgery. There are special therapies for people with liver disease. In severe cases, they might need to have aliver transplant.
Once the cause is found and treated, any yellow discoloration in the eyes or the rest of the body should go away.
What Can a Bilirubin Test Tell You?
People infected with leptospirosis may not have symptoms. Some people develop jaundice, which can make their eyes and skin look yellow.
What Is Hepatology?
Other symptoms of leptospirosis include:
The symptoms of leptospirosis can come in waves or phases. In the first phase, common symptoms like a fever come on quickly, but then a person starts to feel better. They might just think they had a “bug” that was going around.
However, if the infection is not treated and goes on to the second phase, a person can get very sick. They might develop severe medical problems like organ failure andmeningitis.
How to Prevent Infectious Diseases
If they get treated early, most people recover in a few weeks. If the infection is not treated, a person can be sick for months.
People who have complications and are very ill might need to be in the hospital to get antibiotics through an IV.
How Antibiotics Are Used
Alcohol Use Disorder
Alcohol use disorderis a chronic disease that causes people to misuse alcohol. People with alcohol use disorder are at a high risk of getting alcoholic liver disease. Yellow eyes and skin in someone who is misusing alcohol are usually a sign that their liver is damaged.
Drinking a lot of alcohol over time can damage the liver. Other liver problems likeinflammation(hepatitis) andscarring(cirrhosis) can also cause jaundice.
How Alcohol Damages the Body
To get better, a person who misuses alcohol needs a lot of medical and mental health support. They also need support from the people in their lives.
People who need to stop using alcohol because their liver is damaged might need to be in the hospital—especially when they first stop drinking.
Once they are medically stable, rehabilitation programs can be an option to help them continue to abstain from alcohol.
What Happens With You Stop Drinking Alcohol?
Pancreatitisis inflammation of the pancreas. The organ produces enzymes the body needs for digestion.
People with pancreatitis can have flare-ups or “attacks,” during which time they have abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and other symptoms. They may also have jaundice, which can cause their eyes to look yellow.
These acute attacks can repeat over time, becoming chronic. As they happen more often, the flares can damage the pancreas.
What Causes Pancreatitis?
Pancreatitis can happen for a variety of reasons related to lifestyle, medications, and other health conditions.
Here are some examples of things that can cause pancreatitis:
Sometimes, people have pancreatitis and there is no clear cause.
How Celiac Disease Damages the Liver
A person who is having a pancreatitis attack will often feel, and look, very ill. They may go to the emergency room and even be admitted to the hospital for treatment.
Natural Ways to Treat Pancreatitis
When the condition becomes chronic, the damage to the pancreas can lead to other serious health problems.
If a person has pancreatitis because of gallstones, they might need to have surgery to have the stones or their gallbladder removed.
What to Eat If You Have Pancreatitis
Hemolytic anemiais a blood disorder where the body breaks down red blood cells too quickly. As a result, the body does not have enough red blood cells (anemia).
When red blood cells are breaking down too fast, it causes bilirubin buildup. This can make a person’s eyes look yellow.
Some people are born withhemolytic anemiabecause they inherited certain genes from their parents. In people with inherited hemolytic anemia, red blood cells in the body don’t live long enough.
Hemolytic anemia is also a condition a person can get later in life (acquired). Some people will only have the condition for a short time, while others will have it for the rest of their lives.
In rare cases, people develop hemolytic anemia after getting a blood transfusion or because they have a mechanical heart valve that destroys red blood cells.
Drug-Induced Hemolytic Anemia
Generally, people with hemolytic anemia need a combination of treatments depending on how sick they are.
If a person has hemolytic anemia that is not very severe and is not getting worse, they may not need any specific treatment.
For people who are sicker, corticosteroids and other medications that strengthen the immune system can be helpful.
More severe anemia might need to be treated with blood transfusions, bone marrow transplants, surgery, and drugs that suppress the immune system.
An Overview of Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia
Summary
It can be alarming to look in the mirror and see that your eyes are looking yellow.
The only way to know for sure is to have your healthcare provider look at your yellow eye. Once they know what’s causing the discoloration in your eye, they can make sure you get the right treatment.
How Phototherapy Can Treat Jaundice
14 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Subconjunctival hemorrhage.Tarlan B, Kiratli H.Subconjunctival hemorrhage: risk factors and potential indicators.Clin Ophthalmol. 2013;7:1163-1170. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S35062Telfer P, Agodoa I, Fox KM, et al.Impact of voxelotor (GBT440) on unconjugated bilirubin and jaundice in sickle cell disease.Hematol Rep. 2018;10(2):7643. doi:10.4081/hr.2018.7643Frings A, Geerling G, Schargus M.Red eye: a guide for non-specialists.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017;114(17):302-312. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2017.0302Fargo MV, Grogan SP, Saguil A.Evaluation of jaundice in adults.Am Fam Physician.2017;95(3):164-168.Haque T, Sasatomi E, Hayashi PH.Drug-induced liver injury: pattern recognition and future directions.Gut Liver. 2016;10(1):27-36. doi:10.5009/gnl15114National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury.Estrogens and oral contraceptives.Frenzel C, Teschke R.Herbal hepatotoxicity: clinical characteristics and listing compilation.Int J Mol Sci. 2016;17(5):588. doi:10.3390/ijms17050588Mukadi Kakoni P, Munyeku Bazitama Y, Nepomuceno JR, et al.Leptospirosis as a cause of fever associated with jaundice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021;15(8):e0009670. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009670Haake DA, Levett PN.Leptospirosis in humans.Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2015;387:65-97. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45059-8_5Lee CH, Kim IH.Direct hyperbilirubinemia as a predictor of mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis.Gut Liver. 2021;15(4):490-491. doi:10.5009/gnl210296Kleeff J, Whitcomb DC, Shimosegawa T, et al.Chronic pancreatitis.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17060. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.60Whitcomb DC; North American Pancreatitis Study Group.Pancreatitis: TIGAR-O version 2 risk/etiology checklist with topic reviews, updates, and use primers.Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2019;10(6):e00027. doi:10.14309/ctg.0000000000000027Phillips J, Henderson AC.Hemolytic anemia: evaluation and differential diagnosis.Am Fam Physician. 2018;98(6):354-361.
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Subconjunctival hemorrhage.Tarlan B, Kiratli H.Subconjunctival hemorrhage: risk factors and potential indicators.Clin Ophthalmol. 2013;7:1163-1170. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S35062Telfer P, Agodoa I, Fox KM, et al.Impact of voxelotor (GBT440) on unconjugated bilirubin and jaundice in sickle cell disease.Hematol Rep. 2018;10(2):7643. doi:10.4081/hr.2018.7643Frings A, Geerling G, Schargus M.Red eye: a guide for non-specialists.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017;114(17):302-312. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2017.0302Fargo MV, Grogan SP, Saguil A.Evaluation of jaundice in adults.Am Fam Physician.2017;95(3):164-168.Haque T, Sasatomi E, Hayashi PH.Drug-induced liver injury: pattern recognition and future directions.Gut Liver. 2016;10(1):27-36. doi:10.5009/gnl15114National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury.Estrogens and oral contraceptives.Frenzel C, Teschke R.Herbal hepatotoxicity: clinical characteristics and listing compilation.Int J Mol Sci. 2016;17(5):588. doi:10.3390/ijms17050588Mukadi Kakoni P, Munyeku Bazitama Y, Nepomuceno JR, et al.Leptospirosis as a cause of fever associated with jaundice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021;15(8):e0009670. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009670Haake DA, Levett PN.Leptospirosis in humans.Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2015;387:65-97. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45059-8_5Lee CH, Kim IH.Direct hyperbilirubinemia as a predictor of mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis.Gut Liver. 2021;15(4):490-491. doi:10.5009/gnl210296Kleeff J, Whitcomb DC, Shimosegawa T, et al.Chronic pancreatitis.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17060. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.60Whitcomb DC; North American Pancreatitis Study Group.Pancreatitis: TIGAR-O version 2 risk/etiology checklist with topic reviews, updates, and use primers.Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2019;10(6):e00027. doi:10.14309/ctg.0000000000000027Phillips J, Henderson AC.Hemolytic anemia: evaluation and differential diagnosis.Am Fam Physician. 2018;98(6):354-361.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
MedlinePlus.Subconjunctival hemorrhage.Tarlan B, Kiratli H.Subconjunctival hemorrhage: risk factors and potential indicators.Clin Ophthalmol. 2013;7:1163-1170. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S35062Telfer P, Agodoa I, Fox KM, et al.Impact of voxelotor (GBT440) on unconjugated bilirubin and jaundice in sickle cell disease.Hematol Rep. 2018;10(2):7643. doi:10.4081/hr.2018.7643Frings A, Geerling G, Schargus M.Red eye: a guide for non-specialists.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017;114(17):302-312. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2017.0302Fargo MV, Grogan SP, Saguil A.Evaluation of jaundice in adults.Am Fam Physician.2017;95(3):164-168.Haque T, Sasatomi E, Hayashi PH.Drug-induced liver injury: pattern recognition and future directions.Gut Liver. 2016;10(1):27-36. doi:10.5009/gnl15114National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury.Estrogens and oral contraceptives.Frenzel C, Teschke R.Herbal hepatotoxicity: clinical characteristics and listing compilation.Int J Mol Sci. 2016;17(5):588. doi:10.3390/ijms17050588Mukadi Kakoni P, Munyeku Bazitama Y, Nepomuceno JR, et al.Leptospirosis as a cause of fever associated with jaundice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021;15(8):e0009670. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009670Haake DA, Levett PN.Leptospirosis in humans.Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2015;387:65-97. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45059-8_5Lee CH, Kim IH.Direct hyperbilirubinemia as a predictor of mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis.Gut Liver. 2021;15(4):490-491. doi:10.5009/gnl210296Kleeff J, Whitcomb DC, Shimosegawa T, et al.Chronic pancreatitis.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17060. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.60Whitcomb DC; North American Pancreatitis Study Group.Pancreatitis: TIGAR-O version 2 risk/etiology checklist with topic reviews, updates, and use primers.Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2019;10(6):e00027. doi:10.14309/ctg.0000000000000027Phillips J, Henderson AC.Hemolytic anemia: evaluation and differential diagnosis.Am Fam Physician. 2018;98(6):354-361.
MedlinePlus.Subconjunctival hemorrhage.
Tarlan B, Kiratli H.Subconjunctival hemorrhage: risk factors and potential indicators.Clin Ophthalmol. 2013;7:1163-1170. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S35062
Telfer P, Agodoa I, Fox KM, et al.Impact of voxelotor (GBT440) on unconjugated bilirubin and jaundice in sickle cell disease.Hematol Rep. 2018;10(2):7643. doi:10.4081/hr.2018.7643
Frings A, Geerling G, Schargus M.Red eye: a guide for non-specialists.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017;114(17):302-312. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2017.0302
Fargo MV, Grogan SP, Saguil A.Evaluation of jaundice in adults.Am Fam Physician.2017;95(3):164-168.
Haque T, Sasatomi E, Hayashi PH.Drug-induced liver injury: pattern recognition and future directions.Gut Liver. 2016;10(1):27-36. doi:10.5009/gnl15114
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury.Estrogens and oral contraceptives.
Frenzel C, Teschke R.Herbal hepatotoxicity: clinical characteristics and listing compilation.Int J Mol Sci. 2016;17(5):588. doi:10.3390/ijms17050588
Mukadi Kakoni P, Munyeku Bazitama Y, Nepomuceno JR, et al.Leptospirosis as a cause of fever associated with jaundice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021;15(8):e0009670. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009670
Haake DA, Levett PN.Leptospirosis in humans.Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2015;387:65-97. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45059-8_5
Lee CH, Kim IH.Direct hyperbilirubinemia as a predictor of mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis.Gut Liver. 2021;15(4):490-491. doi:10.5009/gnl210296
Kleeff J, Whitcomb DC, Shimosegawa T, et al.Chronic pancreatitis.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17060. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.60
Whitcomb DC; North American Pancreatitis Study Group.Pancreatitis: TIGAR-O version 2 risk/etiology checklist with topic reviews, updates, and use primers.Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2019;10(6):e00027. doi:10.14309/ctg.0000000000000027
Phillips J, Henderson AC.Hemolytic anemia: evaluation and differential diagnosis.Am Fam Physician. 2018;98(6):354-361.
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