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Why Rubbing Your Eyes Is a Mistake


When your eyes feel itchy, it’s a natural reaction to want to rub, rub, rub. It temporarily relieves the itching, and frankly feels great when you’re doing it. Unknowingly, however, you are likely doing short-term – and in some cases long-term – damage to your eyes. Here are some of the detrimental effects that can result from eye rubbing. 

  • Worsening of ocular allergies: rubbing an eye inflamed from allergies starts a vicious cycle. During the allergic ocular response, a chemical called histamine is released from a cell called a mast cell. It is this release of histamine that starts the red, itchy, watery eyes associated with allergies. Rubbing the eyes releases more histamine, causing the eyes to become more inflamed, perpetuating the cycle.
  • Risk of increased eye pressure: Putting pressure on the globe of the eye drastically increases intraocular pressure (IOP). While the effect is temporary, prolonged rubbing can increase your risk of developing glaucoma, a potentially blinding eye disease, especially if the IOP spikes high enough. 
  • Risk of retinal detachment: Any trauma to the eye can risk detaching the retina, the paper thin film that lines the back of the eye. Retinal detachment can present with symptoms such as seeing flashes, floaters, or a blacking out of the vision, but other times it can go undetected until it’s too late. Rubbing the eye causes unnecessary trauma to the globe, which can rupture the attachment of the retina to the back of the eye.
  • Keratoconus: More and more research is starting to show that ocular allergies and eye rubbing is a risk factor for developing keratoconus, a disease in which the cornea starts to bow out and form a cone shape. While the exact cause is not known, research suggests that the contant rubbing weakens the collagen bonds that helps the cornea keep its shape, resulting in the abnormal corneal bowing. 

Nothing good comes from eye rubbing. If your eyes are itchy, you can try over-the-counter antihistamine drops, cool compresses (which slows histamine release), and allergy medications to stop the itch.

Article contributed by Jonathan Gerard

The content of this blog cannot be reproduced or duplicated without the express written consent of Eye IQ

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Ask Dr. Stewart Your Eye Care Questions

What can be expected during a contact lens fitting?

A patient can expect to have a different experience when having a contact lens fitting. In addition to the eyeglass exam, questions will be asked to determine which contact lens will work best for them. Will they want to leave the lenses in their eyes overnight or will they remove them every day? Will they wear them only occasionally or will they be for everyday use? Do they want a contact lens that they throw away every day or do they want a contact lens that they have to clean and disinfect? If the patient is over age 40 and has a compromised ability to see up close, how will they see up close with their contact lenses? Will they wear readers over their distant contacts, or will they wear multifocal contacts, or will they wear monovision?

Are some people more prone to having Dry Eyes than others?

Experiencing dry eye symptoms is more common as we grow older, particularly in people 50 years of age and older. Hormonal changes in women who are experiencing menopause or who are post-menopausal. Inflammation in our body can affect the tear gland's ability to produce tears. Eye or health conditions such as glaucoma, diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjogren's Syndrome can be associated with Dry Eyes. Environmental conditions such as dry winter air, dry indoor heated air, working on the computer, and wearing contact lenses can cause Dry Eyes.

Are there advantages to single-use contact lenses? What are they?

Single-use daily wear contacts are convenient to the patient and a healthy recommendation from their eye doctor. At the end of the day, the patient only has to dispose of the contacts. There is no need to take the contacts out to clean and disinfect them. The patients time and money spent on solutions and caring for them are eliminated. Not to mention that the next time they wear a contact, they will be wearing a brand new contact! The single best recommendation your eye doctor can make is to recommend single-use daily wear contacts. They are the healthiest contact that can be worn. The contact lens pathology issues of wearing the same contact for two or four weeks such as neovascularization, microcystic edema, and bacterial infections are greatly reduced.

What is an eye infection?

Your eyes can get infections from bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Eye infections can occur in different parts of the eye and can affect just one eye or both. Two common eye infections are conjunctivitis (also known as pink eye) and lid styes which are swollen lid bumps that can also be painful. Common signs of an eye infection are pain, itching, or a sensation of a foreign body in the eye, photosensitivity, redness or small red lines in the white of the eye, discharge of yellow pus that may be crusty upon awaking, and tears.

What happens during a typical Diabetic Eye Exam?

Your Eye Doctor will evaluate the back of your eye called the Retina to check for leaking blood vessels. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when elevated blood sugars damage the walls of the blood vessels. The vessel walls may thicken, leak, develop clots, close off, or grow balloon-like defects called microaneurysms.

My eyes tear all the time. Why do you call it Dry Eyes?

Your eyes have extra tears because your eyes produce extra tears to combat irritation and dryness. A better way to describe Dry Eyes is tear film instability, which refers to the composition of your tears not being in the proper composition. Stopping eyes from producing extra tears is a goal in the treatment of Dry Eyes.

At what age should my child have his/her eyes examined?

If you ask 10 different Doctors you will get 10 different answers. Newborns have their eyes checked in the birthing ward for starters. From birth to age 5 their eyes are growing. At age 5 is a good time to schedule a regular eye examination, however, if any unusual eye behavior is observed under age 5 an eye exam should be scheduled at that time. Unusual eye behavior such as eye squinting, a head tilt, or having to get close to see.