Why You Should Keep Your Hands Away From Your Eyes
We’ve all done it. We wake up and rub the accumulated “sleep” from our eyes. Or we take off our glasses and rub our tired eyes after spending another unspeakably long day working on our computers. It’s almost a clichéd part of acting tired or signifying that you’re ready for bed. But rubbing your eyes is bad for you and can be potentially dangerous to your sight.
Aside from the dangers to your eyes themselves, rubbing your eyes can actually make you look more tired, and can increase the possibility of contracting infections of the tear ducts, the eyelash follicles, the pores of the eyelids, the oil ducts of the eyelids, and the eyes themselves. Between the possibility of injuring your eyes and spreading disease to your eyes, it’s just not worth rubbing them; here’s why.
Why Scratching Your Cornea Is a Downer
Your cornea, the clear front of your eye, is susceptible to getting scratched. Common ways to scratch your cornea include unpleasant encounters with tree branches and sports equipment, but just about anything can cause a corneal abrasion, including dust and debris that accumulates in your eyes in certain situations, and especially if you rub your eyes.
Do yourself a favor and invest in an old fashioned eye cup so you can use clean water to flush your eyes when you feel like something is in there, and it’s driving you crazy.
Conjunctivitis, Chalazions, and Styes, Oh My
As mentioned above, the potential of causing injury to your eye isn’t the only reason why you should stop rubbing them.
Unless you generally wash and sterilize your hands before rubbing your face or eyes, you are running the risk of spreading bacteria on your hands (taken from everything you’ve touched since you last cleaned them thoroughly) and putting it directly on the organs that allow you to see the world.
Conjunctivitis, a bacterial infection of the eye; chalazion, a plugged oil duct of the eyelid; and styes, bacterial infection of the pores of the eyelid, are just some of the many uncomfortable and unpleasant looking eye problems you are asking for if you rub your eyes with dirty hands.
Do You Enjoy Looking Tired?
Rubbing your eyes can put as much as twenty pounds of pressure on your eyes (again, not good for your corneas) and the soft tissue surrounding them. This can lead to having dark circles around your eyes and the propensity for having “bags” under your eyes.
Unless you’re shooting for that tired or aged and withered look, having bags under your eyes and dark circles around them is probably not on your list of desirable looks.
Just Don’t Rub Your Eyes
Now you know why you shouldn’t rub your eyes when you tired, or just waking up in the morning or from a nap. If you need an alternative way to clean your eyelids, then consider a clean damp cloth or an eyecup.
Resist the urge to rub your eyes when they’re tired, when you’re tired, or when you’re just waking. Your vision, your appearance, and your eyes will thank you for it.