Dr Sam skingapore from Singapore claims rubbing your eyes will make you blind

I am a doctor and here’s the grim reason why you should never rub your eyes: ‘Everyone needs to hear this’

  • Dr Sam from Singapore warns against eye rubbing
  • Explains it can cause blindness

Rubbing your eyes might feel good at the time but it causes irreversible damage and can make you go blind, a GP has warned.

Dr Sam, from Singapore, is a GP with a keen interest in skincare, family medicine and horrifying medical stories.

He recently revealed the pressure of rubbing your eyes can make your eyesight deteriorate – and in some cases make you lose sight altogether.

‘Using your knuckles or the back of your had increases the pressure more than using your finger tips,’ he said.

And if you are short sighted then there are more reasons to never rub your eyes. 

Dr Sam from Singapore has revealed why you should never rub your eyes

The young doctor has started a new TikTok series called ‘New Fears Unlocked’ which focusses on things we all do which could have devastating consequences.

Like eye rubbing.

Poll

Do you rub your eyes?

  • I did but will stop now! 1 votes
  • I do, and I am not worried! 1 votes
  • I don’t! 0 votes

He told the story of 18-year-old Tahmeed Rashed from Australia, who became completely blind in one eye and lost the majority of vision in his other after developing an eye rubbing habit.

‘He has been rubbing his eyes since the age of one,’ the doctor said.

‘His eye rubbing led to a condition called keratoconus,’ he added.

Before explaining the condition means his eyes had changed shape from the pressure of rubbing over 17 years. 

Th doctor then shared an MRI showing someone rubbing their eyes.

‘You can tell the amount of pressure that is put and how the eye changes shape,’ he said.

‘Eye rubbing can increase your eye pressure by 20 times,’ he said. 

People who are short sighted ae also opening themselves up to retinal detachment by rubbing their eyes, he explained.

‘If you have an eye rubbing habit you want to shake it off,’ he added.

The warning went viral, horrifying thousands of eye rubbers.

 ‘I am a rubber, what do I do – I can’t help but rub when allergies flare up,’ one man said.

‘I rubbed my eyes and then this popped up,’ said another.

An optometrist added to the horror by explaining short sighted people should also be wary of high adrenaline activities like skydiving – which can also lead to blindness.

Dr Sam said the condition caused by eye rubbing is rare and affects one in 2000 people. 

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