UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

This could be a silly one however I have been told to "try" not to rub my eyes.....easier said than done! Does anyone have any tips? My weakness is when I get water in my eyes I just can't help it! Is it proven that eye rubbing will make the condition worse? I wear corrective glasses for my KC so I probably don't have the same eye irritation as those wearing contacts! But would be interested if anyone has any words of wisdom!

I have to admit to being a big eye rubber. For me to not rub them is like not scratching a really irritating itch - impossible. I've no tips to pass on because I have none - when the need to rub arises I rub.

I feel like I've just admitted to doing something really naughty. Hello, my name is Alison and I'm an eye rubber.

Hi I'm Sarah, I too was an eye rubber

ive stopped rubbing my grafted eye, which is sooooooooo hard!

Sarah M wrote:ive stopped rubbing my grafted eye, which is sooooooooo hard!

Until, like me, you figure a way out of doing it without hurting/disturbing your graft. And no I'm not telling you the method I came up with.

Sorry Claire, we're not helping at all are we?

ooooooh im intrigued now.......i'll figure it out soon enough

Sorry Claire, we should stop rubbin, its not big and its not clever

Claire

A commonality for KC sufferers is Eye Rubbing. It is alleged that when we rub the eye excessively we rub away at the corneal layer and encourage the breakdown of the surface and\or cells.

If you do get thr urge to itch the eye....then keep some saline solution handy and just tip that in the eye....its always best to AVOID rubbing the eye...and as far as rubbing a grafted eye...well Id hate to think the damage that could do...

HTH

J

Or........put a little hot pepper sauce, sold everyplace in Louisiana, on your hands. That will cure eye rubbing in one quick motion.

Piper

I find using eye drops for dry eyes has significantly reduced the need to rub my eyes. For swimming with my lenses I use a swim mask/googles called Reef from Spedo. This stops the water getting in my eyes so less rubbing.

For those situations in the shower I always have a flannel close to hand and dab my eyes instead of rubbing and put drops in as soon as I get out the shower which helps reduce the sensation enough to stop me rubbing eyes.

Link has never been proven though.

Claire

Here is a confession: I am a habitual eye-rubber. At 56 I have fond it hard to break the apttern of a life time, but there are things that I have tried.

since my grafts (one in each eye), I have had to be careful NOT to rub my eyes. At night, when I might have given them a little involuntary rub, I wear eye shields that prevent my fingers from getting close.

When I want to rub my eyes during the day, I drench them with hypermelose instead. I keep this in the fridge, so it is so cooling and refreshing.

What am I going to do next. Head for the fridge and give my eyes a little drenching.

Andrew

Claire
Try applying a cold compress to your eyes, it's soothing and some people find it helps.Also, difficult to rub your eyes when you got a flannel on top of them! The tip about chillies, that'll work , but a bit drastic I think!