I am a 21-year-old male. I recently awoke to find that I had broken blood vessels in the white of my right eye. I've never experienced this before, and it was after a night of excessive drinking. Is there a connection between drinking and broken blood vessels?

Gus

When a blood vessel breaks in the white part of the eye, a person sees a patch of redness, called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. This painless condition can occur with trauma, rubbing one's eye, straining during a bowel movement, lifting heavy objects or even just bending over. While drinking does dilate the blood vessels in the skin, there is no known association between alcohol consumption and subconjunctival hemorrhages in the eye.

Although subconjunctival hemorrhages do not threaten the health of the eye, it is often difficult for patients to know whether redness in the eye requires immediate medical attention. Whenever you see blood in the eye, it is important to call your eye doctor and at least discuss whether an office evaluation is required. A subconjunctival hemorrhage should not cause any visual changes, pain, irritation or sensitivity to light. If you experience those symptoms, you probably have a different condition and should see a doctor immediately. Also, if there is enlargement of the blood vessels of the eye (rather than a patch of red), then a doctor's visit is also required. The bottom line: When in doubt, see your eye doctor.