Do Not Rub Your Eyes

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Hello Dear Reader,

I welcome you once again to my blog, thanks for reading this post and i hope it find you well. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section after reading. So today we going to talk about one universal act that almost everyone practice or may have practice at one point in time in their life.

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Credit: Agneslinnea of Pixabay

Introduction

One very common symptom that patients report to the eye clinic is their eye feeling itchy and they not been able to help it but rub. And the most common advise any optometrist or ophthalmologist may have given out there is do not rub your eyes.

"Well, it is easier said than done", most patients would tell me this, but then it is very important we do not rub our eyes, Why? Because we damage our eyes when we do so and we may just end up escalating a very innocuous situation.

Causes

The things that causes us to rub our eyes or better still make us feel itchy are a whole lot. Most often than not it points to the condition of an allergic reaction and you may be advised by your optometrist to find out what you may be allergic to by observing your lifestyle.

These things may range from simple dust, which actually seem to be a universal allergen because almost every single individual i have come across report dust as an allergen for them but there are also things like soap ingredients, pollen especially during the spring and summer seasons and reactions to materials made up of different fibers such as silk, cotton, nylon etc. With so many variables it become even more difficult finding out what may be causing your itch. But do not give up.

The Dangers of Rubbing

What happens when we rub our eyes? Just like any other part of our body, our eyes also have vessels, some macro others micro. When we rub our eyes there is a high likely hood we will be rupturing some of these vessel, especially the micro vessels. The leakages eventually result in a bloodshot eye, the more we continue to engage in this act we discolor our eyes.

Also, in instances where the itch may be cause by a foreign body falling on the eye rubbing put our eyes at risk of injuring or bruising our cornea. The cornea is the black part of the eye you see when you look directly at someone's eye. It is actually transparent and extremely sensitive, damage to the cornea may result in scarring which would affect the opacity of the cornea resulting in reduced vision, low vision and in extreme cases blindness.

Again, rubbing the eye increases your chances of introducing mico-organisms such as bacteria, virus (including Covid-19), fungi and protozoa into the eye. Virulent organisms may alter the normal flora of the eye and cause serious damage or infection. Then there is the issue of increasing your ocular pressure when you rub your eyes.

Prevention and Treatment

Stopping yourself from rubbing the eye an act which requires some amount of discipline and regular practice for it to become a habit. Telling yourself you will not rub your eyes again may just not cut it.

But we know most often than not we rub our eyes when it is itchy so here is what you can do in those extreme cases where the itching is so severe you cannot help yourself. Simply get some ice cubes, crush them in a face towel and put them on the eye, it is the same thing one does to control a swelling, not to say your eyes itching is a swelling but it will help bring down so you do not have to rub it.

If you get these severe itches quite frequently i would advise you see your optometrist for medication to stabilize your mast cells. In the case where something falls on your eye, put your eyes under running water to remove it or flush your eyes with lots water till you cannot feel it anymore. If it persist kindly see your optometrist for it to be removed because it may have embedded itself in your tissues.

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Credit: Deedee86 of Pixabay

Conclusion

Hopefully after reading this article you would be able to stop rubbing your eye or at least reduce the frequency. Always report all ocular and emergency cases to your optometrist. Seek information from the right source and practice good hygiene. COVID-19 is real, adhere to all social protocols and protect yourself and your families. Thanks for reading and have nice time.

Special thanks to my mentors and supporters @mcsamm, @tj4real, @armandosodano, @delilhavores, @gentleshaid. For further reading;

https://visioneyeinstitute.com.au/eyematters/dangers-rubbing-eyes/
https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-health/rubbing-your-eyes
https://www.visiontexas.com/general/rubbing-eyes-bad-5-reasons-will-get-stop-asap/



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16 comments
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Well, I just learned something new today. Never knew rubbing one's eyes has health implications. Rubbing it is usually enjoyable though. Thanks for the info

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Yes i know, it feels so good, i use to do it all the time till enrolled in my program and then i had to stop. Now i am actually getting people to stop, haha.

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Another great article! You don't just give good advice...you explain why the advice is good. Generally, I'm likely to resist instruction of any kind unless I understand the rationale for that instruction. After reading this, I am definitely not going to rub my eyes. One reason:

rubbing the eye increases your chances of introducing mico-organisms such as bacteria, virus (including Covid-19), fungi and protozoa into the eye

And thank you for offering a remedy. The ice cubes sound great.

Your articles are down-to-earth, readable and extremely useful. Thank you! Sharing on my blog and on Twitter, again.

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Thank you, you words make me feel appreciated so much, i will continue to always put my best foot forward knowing that i have audience like yourself who enjoy the little i put out there. And thanks for sharing too.

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