Nearly 30 percent of all facial and cranial gunshot wound victims present with ocular injuries, and, of those, more than 50 percent lead to permanent visual dysfunction. The exposed surface of the eye accounts for 0.1 percent of the frontal surface area of the body however, the projectile-related damage is 50 times greater than what one would expect based upon surface area alone.

These injuries often occur unintentionally at home and more commonly in young, minority men. Gunshot wounds account for 6 percent of all ocular injuries reported to the U.S. The differential runs the gamut from allergies, dry eye, contact lens overwear, and viral or bacterial conjunctivitis, to more serious eye conditions, such as uveitis or glaucoma.

The term was coined in the 1550s and derived from bloodshotten-from the noun “blood” and the old past participle of “shoot,” a verb.* Many different ocular pathologies may result in conjunctival injection, or a bloodshot eye.

The word “bloodshot” is defined as red and inflamed by swelling of blood vessels, or subconjunctival hemorrhage.

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