”Babies always rub their eyes, making the already red eyes become more red, and even swollen, which can be anxiously attentive parents, exactly why babies rub their eyes, how parents should pay attention to what eye diseases that can cause babies to rub their eyes, we will be briefly introduced from the following convenience.
1, inverted eyelashes
Because the baby’s face is fat, the nasal bone has not yet developed, the eyelids are fatty and the lid margins are thicker, which makes the eyelashes curl inward, causing inverted eyelashes, which rub the cornea and conjunctiva, causing foreign body sensation, photophobia, lacrimation and eyelid spasms, manifesting as conjunctival congestion and corneal clouding. If the eyelashes are severe, surgical correction is possible.
Babies who rub their eyes need to be treated with caution
2. Conjunctivitis
Conjunctival congestion and edema of the eyelid conjunctiva, papillary hyperplasia and follicular formation, and yellow discharge in the eye are common, especially in newborns. Some babies also suffer from upper respiratory tract infections that cause a lot of eye discharge, sometimes waking up with their eyes open and yellow discharge covering the edges of their eyelids, these phenomena indicate inflammation of the baby’s eyelids.
3. Keratitis
The cornea is a transparent membrane located on the front wall of the eye, and trauma or bacterial or viral invasion of the cornea causes inflammation. Children with keratitis will have dryness and burning sensations in both eyes, and increased eye discharge, which will also cause the baby to rub his eyes, however, rubbing the eyes will aggravate the development of keratitis, in this case, you should promptly seek medical attention.
4.Dry eye
Dry eyes are the main cause of dry eye disease in the dry weather season, when tears evaporate quickly and the supply of water and nutrients in the baby’s body is insufficient. When babies spend too much time with their eyes, the number of blinks is significantly reduced, the eye lacks intraocular lubricant – tear wetting, and because the eye is exposed to the air for a long time, the evaporation of tears is accelerated, resulting in dry eye discomfort. Over time, dry eye disease will develop.
There are many reasons why babies rub their eyes
5, eye foreign body
Baby outdoor sports, accidentally sand, dust, small insects and other foreign objects into the eye, then the eye will produce intense discomfort, most babies will rub their eyes with their hands, resulting in eye damage.
6, nasolacrimal duct obstruction
Everyone has small holes at the corners of the eyes that are not easily visible to the naked eye, namely the tear dots, which are also the openings of the tear ducts. The role of the tear duct is like a drain, the tear gland secretion of tears is through this pipe to the nasopharynx. If your baby is always rubbing his eyes, and at the same time his eyes are tearing more with more secretions accumulating at the corners of his eyes, it is likely that the blockage is caused by the tear duct.
7, eye eczema
Baby facial eczema, often accumulate the skin of the eye, causing eye itching, easy to make the baby reach out to rub, infant eczema is mostly related to feeding, between 6 months and 1 year of age, the condition is more serious, after 2 years old tend to improve since.
The bad effects of baby eye rubbing
8. Needle eyes, i.e., wheals
It is an acute purulent inflammation of the eyelid, commonly manifested by acute swelling and congestion of the eyelid, with nodules visible or palpable on the eyelid.
9. Refractive error
Studies have shown that refractive error may be the main cause of transient eyes and eye rubbing in children. In myopic children, the frequency of adjustment and convergence gradually increases due to long periods of looking close, and the ciliary and extraocular muscles are often under high tension, while children with astigmatism narrow the lid fissure to a pinhole or slit by squinting, making the retina clear for imaging. If they wear unsuitable glasses, they will inevitably aggravate the original adjustment and, over time, cause spasmodic contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle. In order to relieve eye discomfort, children reflexively take transient eyes and rub their eyes. It has been reported that repeated eye rubbing in children can also cause or aggravate the occurrence of astigmatism.
10.Visual fatigue
Visual fatigue is a common disease in ophthalmology with a variety of symptoms, including pain around the eyes and orbits, blurred vision, dry eyes and tearing, and in severe cases, headache, nausea and vertigo. It is not an independent disease, but a group of fatigue syndromes due to various causes. The causes are various, including myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and other refractive errors, adjustment factors, eye muscle factors, conjunctivitis, keratitis, inappropriate glasses, insufficient or too strong light, uneven distribution of light sources or flickering, and small, thin or unstable targets to gaze at.
Therefore, new parents should pay special attention to the baby’s eye hygiene in their lives, and it is best to have special towels and basins to avoid the spread of eye diseases in the family; if the edge of the eyelids are red, swollen and have small blisters, it is best to take the baby to the hospital for medical attention. Next, let your baby dress appropriately and keep the environment cool; diet, give your baby less spicy and inflammable food, eat more vitamin-rich food; prevent eye trauma caused by sharp, explosive, lime powder and other substances in your daily life, and prevent bright light stimulation; do eye exercises for your baby if you can, so that your baby can grow up healthy and strong.