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Strong Women
“Is rubbing your eyes bad for you?” An optometrist explains the potential dangers
By Lauren Geall
11 months ago
6 min read
Rubbing your eyes when they’re tired or irritated is something most of us do without even realising it – but is it something we should be paying more attention to? An optometrist answers our questions.
Welcome back to Just Curious, Strong Women’s new weekly series exploring all the random health and fitness questions you’ve always wondered about but never got the answer to.
This week, we’re exploring whether rubbing your eyes can have consequences for your sight and ocular health.
Wearing make-up when you’re tired can be risky business. No matter how big an impact a coat of mascara can make to how awake you look, the urge to rub your eyes can often prove too much. One moment you’re sitting at your desk innocently typing away, and the next you’re smearing black formula across your eyelids without even realising it.
Rubbing our eyes is one of those things most of us do without even realising it, like scratching an itch or coughing to clear our throats. It’s an impulse we turn to when we’re feeling sleepy or dealing with discomfort – for example, during hay fever season.
Of course, just because lots of us rub our eyes regularly, that doesn’t mean it’s OK. It’s not exactly rocket science to conclude that putting your hands on and around one of the body’s most delicate organs probably isn’t the best idea.
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But is rubbing your eyes from time to time something that should absolutely be avoided or one of those things that’s fine on occasion? Can rubbing your eyes cause permanent damage or long-term issues – or is it just not best practice for good eye health?
To find out, we put all of those questions – and more – to Nicola Alexander, an award-winning optometrist and founder of the natural eyecare brand Peep Club.
Where does the impulse to rub our eyes come from?
Fascinatingly, the impulse to rub our eyes isn’t just learned behaviour or something we’ve picked up over time – it’s a natural reaction to something going on in the body.
“We rub our eyes when our eye needs more blood flow or tears to the area,” Alexander explains. “This happens most often when we’re tired because the increased blood flow that rubbing the eye brings to the area ensures more oxygen and nutrients are supplied to the tired eye.”
This also explains why we get the urge to rub our eyes when we’ve got something stuck in it and need tears to flush it out – even something as small as an allergen like pollen.
Why is rubbing your eyes bad for you?
Credit: Getty
The urge to rub our eyes is entirely functional, so there are times when it is necessary. But rubbing your eyes regularly isn’t a good idea, Alexander explains.
1. It can damage your eye
As we’ve already mentioned, our eyes are delicate organs, and as such a force as small as a quick eye rub can cause damage.
“Rubbing can be hugely damaging,” Alexander explains. “In the short term, it can cause micro-scratches on your cornea, also known as the front window of your eye.”
The cornea is incredibly important as it covers the iris and pupil and allows light to enter the inside of the eye. It’s also packed with stem cells that help it to regenerate quickly, which means that these micro-scratches tend not to cause long-term harm.
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That is, unless you’ve got something in your eye that’s sharp enough to cause a deep scratch. “Since we blink so much, if the wound is severe, it won’t be able to heal quickly enough and then it can become a serious problem,” Alexander says.
2. It can change the shape of your eye (and affect your vision as a result)
If you’re a chronic eye-rubber, listen up. While you might be able to get away with the odd eye rub in the short term, doing it again and again can cause permanent damage.
“Long-term, chronic rubbing has been linked to a change in shape of the cornea, which can lead to an eye disease known as keratoconus,” Alexander says. “This condition is characterised by the cornea changing from a round shape to a cone shape and can be quite serious, affecting vision and often requiring special contact lenses or even surgery to stabilise it.”
While numerous factors – including genetics – are thought to influence someone’s chance of developing keratoconus, it’s thought that regularly rubbing the eyes can thin and weaken the cornea, increasing the likelihood that it will bulge forward and cause issues.
3. It can cause infection
Our eyes are one of the key openings where bacteria can enter the body, so putting your hands – which can easily become covered in bacteria – in and around your eyes can lead to infection.
“A common scenario I tend to see is a patient who has been gardening or doing DIY work when something goes into their eye,” Alexander says. “The natural instinct is to rub it or try to get it out, but with unclean hands this can lead to other problems like an infection.”
Is there a ‘safe’ way to rub your eyes?
Credit: Getty
Whether you need to get something out of your eye or are just feeling extra sleepy, sometimes rubbing your eye is unavoidable. So, what’s the best way to do so without causing damage?
If you’re trying to get a foreign body like a piece of dust or a crumb out of your eye, Alexander recommends making sure your hands are clean (washed with soap and water) and dry before going in with a specific technique.
“The best thing to do is take your top eyelid by gently holding your upper eyelashes and pull that top lip over the bottom lid,” she says. “Then, you can very gently rub.”
On the other hand, if you simply want to give your eyes a little pick me up, Alexander suggests taking some precautions. “If you do need to rub your eyes, do it with minimal pressure and try to rub on the sides of your eyes rather the front of your eyes where your cornea is,” she says.
“It’s also a good idea to keep saline solution or a hydrating dry eye spray in your first aid kit,” she adds. “Both of these can be used to flush out anything in a safe way – just make sure to check they’re still in date when you use them.”
What’s the best way to deal with eye discomfort without rubbing?
The urge to rub your eyes 24/7 when they’re itchy and red during hay fever season can be hard to resist – so what’s the best way to deal with discomfort if you don’t want to do damage?
Alexander recommends looking for soothing products. “The easiest thing to use is a calming spray which protects the eye and also calms it,” she says. “Other than that, a cool compress can help to relieve the itchiness.”
Using antihistamines and protecting your eyes when you’re outside with wraparound sunglasses can also help to minimise discomfort in the first place.
Images: Getty
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