Can rubbing eyes cause keratoconus ?

Answers (3)

• Kristy Prince

  03/15/2013

  You might rub your eyes when you're anxious or stressed, when you wake up in the morning or even when you sleep. For most people, an occasional gentle rub is nothing to worry about, rubbing your eyes stimulates tears to flow and lubricates dry eyes, removing dust and other irritants. But if you rub your eyes too hard, too often or over a long period of time, you could get into trouble, when you are rubbing your eyes, bacteria which on your hands infected directly into your eyes, may cause corneal inflammation, etc. Nowadays, the cause of keratoconus is still not known,but some researchers believe that genetics can be a role. So, it basically has nothing to do. Answer for you is my pleasure, thank you!

  Helpful(0 ) Report Abuse

• Brian Clem

  03/15/2013

  Of course, it is. Don't rub your eyes with your hands, especially your fingertips. You use your hands every day for many things, your fingers must be full of dirty things like germs and dust. The fingertips contained a lot of germs which may be taken into your eyes . As a result, you may get an infection or inflammation in your cornea. That's how rubbing your eyes cause keratoconus.

  Helpful(0 ) Report Abuse

• casebell

  03/18/2013

  Rubbing eyes can cause keratoconus. A scientific research has showed that rubbing eyes as a habit is commonly shared among keratoconus patients. The corneas of the people who are suffering from keratoconus have been weakened by inflammation, and become very thin. The external forces from eye rubbing will pose the danger of further weakening and even protrude the corneas. If you have this habit, quit it now. In addition, keratoconus can also be caused by overexposure to UV, wearing unfitted contact lenses for too long and chronic eye irritation. So you should pay attention to these factors as well.

  Helpful(0 ) Report Abuse