Should I Worry When My Kids Rub Their Eyes?
What do you do when you see your kids rub their eyes? Do you ignore it because you think your child might be just sleepy or do you try to remove the irritant by blowing at their eyes?
When you see your children rub their eyes once in a while, it is normal to conclude that your children maybe sleepy; or something just went inside their eyes. But if the frequency of eye rubbing increases, it is better to see your optometrist or your ophthalmologist.
What are the causes of eye rubbing in kids?
- Your kids belong to Generation Z and Alpha and they are known to be digital natives. Most of them do not play with toys anymore but use a lot of gadgets. Because of this, they may develop dry eyes at a younger age. In newborns, the blink rate is about 2x per minute, this rate increases to 14 to 17x per minute in adolescence. It is known that gadgets are associated with decreased blink rate and thus increases tear evaporation rate causing dry eyes. One of the symptoms of dry eyes is itchiness, which disappears when eyes were rubbed.
- Allergies such as eye allergies, rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, allergies to mites and others can also bring about eye itchiness. You can visit your paediatrician for this, and when lid allergy is present, antihistamine drops can be used.
- Another cause of eye rubbing is when there is a misalignment in the growth of their eyelashes. You may see these kids blinking more compared to other kids as their own eyelashes are poking their eyes. In this case, your eye care provider may pluck out the eyelashes if they are only a couple. If there are more misaligned growth, contact lenses may be used as a protection so as not to damage their corneal (transparent portion of the eye) surface. When they become adults, a lid surgery can be done if the lashes are too many to just pluck out.
- Eye rubbing can also be a sign that your children have eye grades. You can observe if they sit close to the television, tilt their heads, squint their eyes or write too close. It is possible that one eye has perfect vision, while the other eye has an eye grade.
- If you got pets and your children kiss or hug them a lot, pet hairs may be left near their eyes or on their lids. Make sure to wash their faces often.
So why do we need to be more focused over eye rubbing? What are the effects on your children’s eyes?
- We know kids do not have the cleanest hands. Therefore, rubbing their eyes may bring about bacterial infection such as stye (kuliti) and sore/pink eyes called bacterial conjunctivitis.
- Our eyes are soft, and imagine your hands rubbing against a soft bread? One side would be dented right? Eye rubbing can cause a type of eye grade called astigmatism. This may be produced when there is a difference in the curve of the cornea.
- Vigorous eye rubbing can sometimes damage and scratch the cornea.
- Kids that rub their eyes while growing up maybe at risk to develop KERATOCONUS. Keratoconus is a condition where the cornea becomes progressively thin. It starts with nearsightedness and astigmatism so eyeglasses may initially improve vision, but as the cornea become cone- shaped, the surface becomes irregular and would need special type of contact lenses to improve vision. Keratoconus has different associated risk factors, but the most common risk factor is eye rubbing when patients were younger.
Knowing all of these, I hope you take a second look when you see your kids rub their eyes. Visit your favorite eye care provider to protect your children’s eyes.
