Causes of red streaks in the whites of newborn’s eyes

The red streaks in the whites on a newborn’s eyes are  subconjunctival hemorrhages. While they can be alarming, these red streaks are nothing to worry about. They are just broken blood vessels which will go away on its own in about a week or two. These blood vessels can break during the physical stress of delivery. They can also appear after forceful crying, coughing or vomiting. Sometimes they show up for no reason at all.

The clear part of the eye is known as the conjunctiva.  When a blood vessel breaks below the surface of the conjunctiva, it may not be able to absorb the blood quickly. It therefore gets trapped there for a few days or weeks , showing up as red streaks.

This condition doesn’t bother your baby and wont cause any changes to vision.  There isn’t much you can do so you just have to wait for the streaks to disappear on their own. If they  haven’t disappeared after 3 weeks or more red streaks appear, talk to your pediatrician.