What Causes Eye Bleeding While Coughing In Children?

Posted on Fri, 4 Mar 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 4 Mar 2016 Answered on

Fri, 13 May 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : My daughter has a cold, and this morning she was coughing a little and her eye started to water from coughing so much . When she turned around I noticed it looked like she was crying blood from one eye. It was light pink. What should I do? Her eyes looked fine before she started coughing.

Answered by Dr. Sumanth Amperayani (13 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Intense cough can rupture small capillaries

Detailed Answer:
Hi....I understand your concern.

Sometimes in kids intense cough can cause small blood vessels called capillaries to rupture, either on the eyeball or in the conjunctival surface. This can sometimes present with the symptom you are quoting.

I suggest you consult with your kid's pediatrician regarding this. The other option is to upload the photograph of both eyes of your kid as of now and I will see and get back to you.

Regards - Dr. Sumanth

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar