揉眼睛的危害有多大?
Putting in contact lenses or false eyelashes, or rubbing your eyes after a long day staring at a computer screen, are things some of us do all the time. But unless you've just washed or sanitised your hands, touching your eyes is a surefire way to transfer germs into your body, and it can result in illness. The eyes, like the nose, mouth and other areas of the body, have a mucus membrane, as well as other protective features like eyelashes and tears. But putting your fingers - and the germs often on them - in direct contact with your eyes compromises the membrane and may make you more vulnerable to disease. "If you have touched another person's bodily fluids, or touched an object that has been coughed on, and that person has any viral or bacterial particles in them - like the adenovirus that commonly causes colds - and then touch your eyes, you may contract a viral infection in the eye that causes conjunctivitis," Dr Marita Long, a spokesperson for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners told Coach. If you do wear contact lenses or have some other reason why you need to touch your eyes, Dr Long says it's essential to wash or sanitise your hands before you do. "It is always important to wash your hands before touching your eyes." "Good hand hygiene is always important in reducing transmission of infections." While you might not think you touch your eyes very often, a 2012 study in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found it's an unconscious habit many people have. When hundreds of people in public areas and on public transport were observed, it was found the average person touches a communal surface three times an hour, and then places their hands on their face, including the eyes, even more frequently. It's just as important not to touch your mouth or nose with unwashed hands, as a virus entering the body through oral and nasal passages can quickly take hold in the body, as Dr Chris Del Mar of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners told recently Coach. "If you touch your nose that is a way to inoculate yourself with a virus." |