UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

http://www.mybodylanguage.co.uk/rub%20eyes.htm

When you rub your eyes it stimulates the ocularcardio reflex, applying pressure around the rectus muscles that move the eyeball. This causes a response in the vagus nerve, through their close association.

This stimulation lowers heart rate, so we rub our eyes in order to slow ourselves down to prepare to sleep. Producing a vagal response in this manner (sometimes to the degree of inducing a faint) is used in martial arts, massage, hypnotism, and is a method of disabling violent prisoners/patients.

For some people, this feels good. and may be one reason why stressed people sometimes gain benefit from rubbing their eyes and face with their hands, especially after a stressful telephone call, meeting or confrontation.

dplees

I have never had any doubt of the benefits of eye-rubbing. The problem with folk with keratoconus is that we tend to rub our eyes to excess, probably because they are dry or itchy.

Excessive eye-rubbing is probably an early indicator of the possible presence of keratoconus. The problem is that it is hard to tell where the line lies between 'normal' eye rubbing and 'excessive'. Once you have had a graft the advice seems to be that you avoid eye rubbing altogether.

Oh, life is so complicated.

Andrew

I’ve always rubbed my eyes aggressively and found it really pleasurable, I guess this is why I have PMD, what a shame I hadn’t found any younger. I’ve also noticed that I like blinking heavily in my eye which has the INTAC, this is probably because the INTAC intensifies the feeling of pressure.

When i wore contact lenses i used to rub just beneath them, so as not to move them - i wonder if this is why i have PMD and not KC

i rub my eyes in my sleep and wakemyself up, even the grafted eye- which always fills me with dread
can't help eye rubbing. part of KC thats really weird!

It is so that I do not rub my eyes during sleep that I wear eye shields.

Andrew

where's the glamour? lol

Glamour is not my first consideration for when I am asleep. Actually, with two eye shields on (clear perspex with air holes) I look a bit like the 'human fly'.

Andrew

Two eye shields????? - OK, I know, Andrew, you've had two grafts.
But do you have clear tape to tape them on with?
I can't imagine trying to sleep with an eye shield over both eyes. Let alone trying to get up in the night to, for example, go to the loo, get another glass of water, whatever.
I gave up wearing mine regularly a few weeks post op, and only starting putting in on again after I woke up in the middle of a horrendous nightmare with my eye hurting, and wasn't sure if I'd been rubbing the eye in my sleep, rubbing it in my nightmare, started trying to attack it or what.
Fortunately, only ever had one set of nightmares.
Gave that up after a while, and only had it on again since either in very dusty places or when I went to the Eye Hospital on a day when That Certain Consultant might be about.
Oh gosh, trying to sleep in two of the things....... !
Rosemary

Nope I use micropore tape; it has the advantage of not triggering an allergic reaction, like a well known brand of sticky plasters, and it is easy to remove.

Okay I know it is not glamorous, but I would almost certainly end up rubbing my eyes in my sleep, and this is a small measure to take to protect the gifts I have received from families who were each in a time of crisis when they made their generous donation.

I ought to get my computer to do me a sign for the door:

Beware; Human fly at slumber!

Andrew

Glamour, Andrew, is far from my middle name either!
What I can't imagine is trying to get to sleep with both eye taped up behind a shield - I thin I'd be so uncomfortable I'd never get to drop off.
Mind, I'm a chronic insomniac anyway........ hence regularity of getting up in the night for more flasses of water, or giving up and going to make another mug of hot chocolate and sitting in kitchen dunking digi biscuits.
I also have memories of waking up one morning, not long after the nightmare I mentioned, and finding the shield wasn't there!! - had I been attacking my (well, that grafted) eye in my sleep???!!! - nope, fortunately a corner of the micropore had just got rubbed up the wrong waya nd then stuck to the pillow case.
Rosemary