When people rub their eyes they are doing damage to the most important sensory organ in their body. The skin of the eyelids is the thinnest skin in the body.<\/p>\n
This skin does not do well with constant trauma. "Pigmentary changes (darkening of skin) and loss of retro-orbital fat can lead to an unwanted facial appearance."<\/p>\n
Rubbing the eyes fractures mast cells, which resemble tiny raspberries, with each saccule containing the chemicals histamine, heparin, and serotonin. Histamine makes eyes itch, heparin makes the eyes red, and serotonin keeps the inflammation going.<\/p>\n
"The actual rubbing puts pressure on the eye sometimes up to 60mm Hg, which results in an immediate decrease of the itch response." "But minutes later it returns, often more intensely."<\/p>\n
Additionally, eye rubbing inflames the ocular surface, which can make any inflammatory ocular surface disease, such as dry eye, worse.<\/p>\n
Although the exact mechanism by which eye rubbing impacts keratoconus<\/strong><\/a> specifically is unknown (although increased inflammation may be a component), it is known that eye rubbing is highly associated with keratoconus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n "In some patients it may cause keratoconus<\/strong>, while in others it appears to exacerbate the keratoconus<\/strong><\/a>."<\/p>\n