In addition to jaundice, yellow eyes can have other causes, such as bleeding in the eye.
This gives your healing eye a yellowish look.
The conjunctiva has many tiny blood vessels that can easily burst or break.
Verywell / Cindy Chung
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 discoloredmaybe 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.
An eye specialist can look at the eye and figure out what is causing the discoloration.
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.
Most hemorrhages of this bang out go away by themselves in about seven days.
However, a larger eye bleed can take two to three weeks to get better.
If just one eye turns red, then yellow, it may be due to a burst blood vessel.
This can signal other health problemsor not.
It may be a simple eye bleed.
But if both eyes are yellow, you’re gonna wanna seek medical attention.
Bilirubin is made when the liver breaks down old red blood cells.
The liver gets rid of bilirubin by including it inbile.
The treatment for high bilirubin will depend on whats 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.
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosisis an infection caused byLeptospirabacteria.
It can make humans and animals sick.
People infected with leptospirosis may not have symptoms.
Some people develop jaundice, which can make their eyes and skin look yellow.
Other symptoms of leptospirosis include:
The symptoms of leptospirosis can come in waves or phases.
They might just think they had a bug that was going around.
They might develop severe medical problems like organ failure andmeningitis.
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.
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.
Treatment for liver problems that are due to alcohol is to stop drinkingbut its not really that simple.
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.
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitisis inflammation of the pancreas.
The organ produces enzymes the body needs for digestion.
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.
Pancreatitis can happen for a variety of reasons related to lifestyle, medications, and other health conditions.
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.
A flare of pancreatitis will get better on its own.
When the condition becomes chronic, the damage to the pancreas can lead to other serious health problems.
Hemolytic Anemia
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 personseyes 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 dont live long enough.
Hemolytic anemia is also a condition a person can get later in life (acquired).
Acquired hemolytic anemia can happen when a persons body starts destroying red blood cells.
This can be triggered by infections, medications, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
Generally, people with hemolytic anemia need a combination of treatments depending on how sick they are.
For people who are sicker, corticosteroids and other medications that strengthen the immune system can be helpful.
The only way to know for sure is to have your healthcare provider look at your yellow eye.
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