I’m A Doctor And Here’s The Grim Reason You Should Never Rub Your Eyes: ‘Everybody Needs To Hear This’
- Dr. Sam from Singapore warns against eye rubbing
- Explains that it can cause blindness
Rubbing your eyes may feel good at the time, but it causes irreversible damage and can make you blind, warns a doctor.
Dr. Sam, from Singapore, is a general practitioner with a keen interest in skin care, family medicine and horrific medical stories.
He recently revealed that the pressure of rubbing your eyes can worsen your vision – and in some cases even cause you to lose your sight.
“Using your knuckles or the back of your hand increases the pressure more than using your fingertips,” he said.
And if you’re nearsighted, there are more reasons not to rub your eyes.
Dr. Sam from Singapore has revealed why you should never rub your eyes
The young doctor has started a new TikTok series called ‘New Fears Unlocked’ that focuses on things we all do that can have devastating consequences.
Like eye rubbing.
He told the story of 18-year-old Tahmeed Rashed from Australia, who became completely blind in one eye and lost most of his sight in the other after developing an eye rubbing habit.
“He’s been rubbing his eyes since he was a year old,” the doctor said.
“His eye rubbing led to a condition called keratoconus,” he added.
Before he explained the condition, it means that his eyes had changed shape for 17 years due to the pressure of rubbing.
The doctor then shared an MRI showing someone rubbing his eyes.
“You can see how much pressure is applied and how the eye changes shape,” he said.
“Eye rubbing can increase your eye pressure 20 times,” he said.
People who are nearsighted also open themselves up to retinal detachment by rubbing their eyes, he explained.
“If you have a habit of rubbing your eyes, you want to shake that off,” he added.
The warning went viral and horrified thousands of eye rubbers.
“I’m a rubber, what should I do – I can’t help but rub when allergies flare up,” said one man.
“I rubbed my eyes and then this came out,” said another.
An optometrist added to the horror by explaining that nearsighted people should also be wary of high-adrenaline activities such as skydiving – which can also lead to blindness.
Dr. Sam said the condition caused by eye rubbing is rare, affecting one in 2,000 people.