Do you rub your eyes often? You should not rub them often as it can lead to various Eye problems in the future.Though it might seem harmless, we often rub our eyes from time to time. It feels good because it increases tear flow and eye lubrication, which soothes dry eyes and aids in removing dust and other irritants. Additionally, rubbing your eyes can be of use since doing so causes the vagus nerve to be stimulated, which lowers your heart rate and relieves stress.

In this blog, we are going to tell you all about the injuries caused by rubbing your eyes and how to stop rubbing your eyes!

Why do we rub our eyes?

We tend to rub our eyes when they are itchy. However, rubbing causes histamine release, which aggravates itching and leads to more assertive eye rubbing.

Rubbing your eyes isn't always a bad thing. It releases more tears causing the meibomian glands, which are located within your eyelids, to secrete much-needed oil into your eyes. This adds moisture and keeps our tears from drying out.

Cause of the constant rubbing eyes

There are various causes of continuously rubbing the eyes and creating difficulties for yourself. Some of the causes of eye rubbing are as follows:

• Unaddressed allergies
• Sleep disturbances or insomnia
• Contact lens irritation
• Vision issues that need correction
• The wrong vision prescription
• Dry eyes
• Blepharitis (infected or irritated eyelids, styes)
• Having a cold or flu

Consult your eye doctor immediately if you face any of the above issues with constantly rubbing your eyes. You can book your free eye test from us and get the expert’s opinion.

Why is rubbing your eyes bad?

There are various reasons why rubbing your eyes is bad for you. Here are some reasons that might make you cautious and aware of not rubbing your eyes.

Long-term disease- Studies have shown that continuous rubbing of the eyes can cause thinning of the corneal tissue, which weakens the cornea and pushes it forward to become more conical. This thinning of the cornea is an eye disease called Keratoconus, which is a serious condition that can lead to distorted vision and ultimately the need for a corneal transplant. People with pre-existing eye conditions like myopia or nearsightedness may find that it worsens the eye conditions. ​​People with glaucoma may find a spike in eye pressure caused by rubbing the eyes that can also disrupt blood flow to the back of the eye and lead to nerve damage, which ultimately can cause permanent loss of vision!

Eye Injuries-It often happens that something gets stuck in the eyes and the natural tendency is to rub the eyes and try to remove the object. It is natural to try getting the thing out, but it causes more harm to the eyes because rubbing the object against your eyes can easily cause a corneal scratch leading to corneal abrasion. Corneal abrasion can be painful and takes some time to heal so that they do not get affected. Eye rubbing is the least effective and risky way to get anything out of the eyes. The body’s natural defence mechanism in this case is tearing, which will take care of the problem. If this does not work, consult a doctor for an eye drop.

Risk of infection (Red Eyes)- It is quite common that our hands carry more germs than any other part of the body because of all the touch throughout the day. When you rub your eyes, these germs are easily transferred and can often lead to infections like conjunctivitis (pink eyes). You can use a ton of hand sanitizer and wash your hands quite often if you rub your eyes, or else you are going to put yourself at a higher risk of eye infection. Well, during and after the pandemic that has affected our overall health, every individual has become more conscious of taking care of their body and eyes. Washing our hands after every interval has become a daily part of our lives. Rubbing your eyes with dirty hands can cause various problems with vision.

Dark Circles- Eye rubbing causes tiny blood vessels to break, which in turn causes bloodshot eyes (red eyes) and dark circles under the eyes. One usually tries to cover them with makeup for a better appeal.

How to stop rubbing your eyes?

• Use artificial tears or eye drops to keep your eyes hydrated.
• They are available over the counter at pharmacies and are particularly effective against dry eyes.
• To avoid chronic eye rubbing in more complex cases, such as allergy sufferers, steroid eye drops can be used.
• Excessive eye rubbing should be addressed to prevent ocular and vision damage, whether caused by chronic dry eye, itchy eyes, or habit.
• Make sure to have a proper sleep schedule and use eye drops for dry eyes.
• Since most of the work involves using screens, one can have blue light blocker glasses for an extra layer of protection.