Are these daily habits damaging your eyes?

Our eyes put up with a lot: Hours in front of the TV or computer, low mood lighting in a restaurant, squinting into the sun while driving (even with sunglasses). There’s a long list. Despite how important our eyesight is, we tend to take it for granted.

There are certain habits, in particular, that we continue to put our eyes through that are actually quite damaging. If any of the following sound familiar, now’s the time to stop. You’ve only got the one pair, after all…

Rubbing or touching your eyes

Whether they’re dry, itchy, or maybe an eyelash got in, touching or rubbing your eyes with your fingers and hands is not advised.

Right off the bat, picture all the things you touch and handle throughout the day and really think about how often you’ve washed your hands. Probably not a whole lot. When you start rubbing and touching your eyes, all the things you touched that day can now become transferred to your eye. That includes germs, bacteria, and anything else that can make us sick or cause infection.

Worse yet, the more you rub your eyes, the more minor tears in the tissue can occur. They can break and damage capillaries, and you might end up with visible veins which can make you look older – or end up with dark spots around the eye.

When your eye is feeling itchy, keep your eyelid closed to avoid any germs from entering your eye, and be gentle with rubbing. It can damage blood vessels and cause inflammation. Overall, keep your hands away from your line of vision, and wash them before rubbing or touching your sensitive eyes.
Read more: http://www.belmarrahealth.com/are-these-daily-habits-damaging-your-eyes/