According to Dr. Aadhithreya Varman, Director of Uma Eye Clinic (India), eye irritation is a common problem that can arise due to a variety of causes, including allergies, dry eyes, prolonged screen time, or exposure to dust and pollutants. While the discomfort may make you rub your eyes frequently, doing so can worsen the irritation and even risk damaging your eyes.
What causes intense eye rubbing?
Allergies: Eye irritation is common in people with specific allergies related to the weather, pollen, or food. This can cause symptoms such as sneezing and a runny nose. Additionally, your eyes will often become watery, red, and even intensely itchy.
Using contact lenses: If you wear contact lenses for longer than the recommended time, rubbing your eyes can cause pain and a rubbing sensation, which can lead to damage to the cornea and even cause corneal ulcers.
Prolonged eye strain: Sometimes, eyes become dry due to looking at computer screens for long periods of time, being exposed to the phone too often, or working without breaks, making the habit of rubbing eyes even more frequent.
Environmental factors: Eye irritation can be caused by irritants such as dust, cigarette smoke, chlorinated water, and dry weather.
How does rubbing your eyes vigorously affect your eyes?
“Frequent eye rubbing can weaken and thin the cornea, causing it to bulge forward and take on a more cone-like shape,” says Dr. Varman.
Chronic eye rubbing can also significantly increase your risk of developing keratoconus, a condition in which the cornea gradually thins and widens into a cone shape. This can lead to blurred vision and possible sensitivity to light and glare. Keratoconus can also affect both eyes, with one eye being more affected than the other.
How to safely remove irritants from your eyes
According to Dr. Varman, rubbing your eyes is a bad habit that can cause many harmful effects to your eyes. However, itchy, irritated eyes due to various causes are very common problems. Therefore, you need to calmly solve these problems effectively and safely, and especially gradually limit the habit of rubbing your eyes.
You should use a clean tissue to dab your eyes or gently massage your eyes. This method can solve the itchy eyes without damaging the cornea and limit the direct transfer of bacteria from your hands to your eyes.
Use eye drops to clean your eyes, remove dirt and other agents that cause itching and irritation. In case of foreign objects in the eyes, use eye drops in combination with a cotton swab to remove the foreign object with the eye drops.
In cases of itching due to some eye diseases such as conjunctivitis, blepharitis or eyes that have to accommodate due to continuous work, you can clean your eyes regularly with saline or eye drops. If the itching does not improve, you should go to the hospital for examination and treatment to avoid the condition becoming more serious.
Wear glasses when going out to reduce the risk of foreign objects, dust and insects flying into your eyes. In addition, avoid using your phone or watching TV for long periods of time to avoid eye fatigue and itching.
