With pollen season underway, Dr Mark Wilkins has urged people to avoid doing this one thing to protect their vision.
Dr Mark Wilkins, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at OCL Vision, has cautioned against frequently rubbing your eyes, a practice he says "we are all guilty of". While it may seem like an innocent habit, it could actually be doing damage to eyes and could have terrible consequences.
"So can blepharitis, a malfunction of grease glands in the eye lids that causes the lids to become inflamed and for dried grease to fall into the eye and irritate it. In every scenario, rubbing your eyes provides relief by temporarily stimulating tear production to clear away anything aggravating the eye.
Top Health Stories Today He said: "There is strong evidence that eye rubbing contributes to the development and progression of a serious corneal condition known as keratoconus. Patients with keratoconus can go on to develop astigmatism that requires glasses, or hard contact lenses, to correct the vision. The condition can be halted but not reversed."
"Other people who touch those surfaces and then touch their own eyes can become infected." So, instead of rubbing your eyes, what is the suggested alternative?
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