Before you rub that itchy eye!

Ever felt an itchy sensation around your eye and your very first impulse was to scratch it and soothe yourself? Yes, I believe is your answer.
You actually don't rub your eye just when it itches you. It could be when you wake up, when you're anxious or stressed or when an eyelash or two enters your eye. I'm guilty of this and writing this has helped me reduce and who knows what posting would do?

Why shouldn't you rub your eye?
A research optometrist says studies show that rubbing causes our eye pressure to rise. A light rub doubles it while a thorough and harsh rub causes it to rise 20 times its original pressure.
The reaction to rubbing of eyes varies with individuals. For someone with Myopia (Short Sightedness) who already has a very long and weak retina, rubbing it only makes it weaker. The cornea then gets damaged and in rare cases can tear up causing significant loss of sight.
When you sleep, your brain loses connection to your eye which explains why you probably rub your eye immediately after waking up. This act is quite risky and scary because the cornea can be swollen from excess fluid as a result of low overnight oxygen level.
If you have a sweet tooth like I do, you'd know that a spoon of ice cream or a bar of chocolate can never make you satisfied. That's how rubbing of the eye works (for me at least). I rub my itchy eye and then get this really soothing and 'delicious' feeling that makes me never want to stop. I start with a light rub thereby doubling my eye pressure and then proceed to give it a thorough and harsh rub which makes it rise 20 times its original pressure as stated earlier.

Also, there's bacteria everywhere. From your door knob to your reading table and more than enough on your HAND! Now, close your eyes and try to picture yourself with that much bacteria rubbing your already sensitive eye. What do we have? Your guess is as good as mine.
If your eyelashes are like mine (very scattered), you'd know that the urge to rub occurs almost every day as they always tend to enter our eyes. The struggle to remove it gently is real. This also happens generally in windy weather. In a situation like this, water should be your best friend or better still a finger but hey! a clean one.
So, apart from sitting on your hands or cutting them off, how can you reduce/stop rubbing your eye? Well, if the urge to rub your eye occurs once in a while, the best thing that can stop you from rubbing your eye is the fear of infection. That probably sounds funny but that's me being honest because that's what has been working for me.
If yours occurs frequently, you need to go see an optometrist or get an eye drop from a pharmacy. We all know the former is safer. We need those beautiful eyes to stay healthy.
I really do hope this has helped you one way or the other. Stay safe! xxx.