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Why do babies rub their eyes, how to stop it

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Newborns and infants have been seen rubbing their eyes with their little hands. If this habit is seen continuously, it is better to consult an ophthalmologist, however, there may be possible reasons for this behavior in infants. Certain methods should be followed to avoid them.
A sense of curiosity
As infants increase physical activity over time, they develop a curiosity to learn about things. Under this sense, when infants see new things, they try to touch them out of curiosity to get familiar with them.

Babies also rub their eyes out of visual curiosity, in addition to blinking their eyes repeatedly, actually examining the objects they see. So you can show your child something else interesting to divert their attention as children have a very short attention span so their attention is quickly diverted.

Fatigue and sleepiness
Infants have longer sleep durations. If they are kept awake for a long time, they feel tired, which causes them to lose their sleep and rub their eyes. This means that they are drowsy and want to sleep. By this action of children, the tension of their eye muscles starts to decrease.
So whenever your child rubs his eyes, check that he is not sleep deprived due to which he is constantly rubbing his eyes.

Dry eyes
If children are sleepy and still rub their eyes, it is possible that their eyes are dry and they try to rub them with their hands to reduce the spasm in the eyes due to lack of moisture. They do this by bringing fluid (tears) into the eye to relieve them.

Getting something stuck in the eye
Sometimes children rub their eyes due to the feeling of pain in the eye when a hair or a speck of dirt gets stuck in the eye or in the eyelids.
If your child is constantly rubbing his eyes and at the same time his eye is red, this is a sign that something has gone into the eye that is causing him pain and he is crying. Rubbing the eyes.
In the above case, soak a clean cotton in cold water and clean the eye with it, so that if there is anything in the eye, it will be washed away.

Allergy
If your baby’s eyes are red and watery, causing them to cry, this is a sign that the baby’s eyes are allergic, but infants’ eyes are less prone to allergies.
Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis, an eye disease, can usually be caused by a flu virus or a cold. The sign of which is redness in the eyes along with mucus coming into it.
In the above case, you should soak the child’s eye with a clean cotton ball and clean the eyes several times a day.

How to stop rubbing eyes
You should prevent the child from rubbing the eyes as much as possible for fear of getting nails stuck in the eye from constant eye rubbing.
If your child constantly rubs his eyes, wear gloves on his hands so that the child’s nails do not damage the eyes. If you don’t have gloves, try making the sleeves longer.
Divert the child’s attention to something else.

When to consult a physician?
. When the infant is not attracted to bright lights.
. Children’s eye color is abnormal i.e. when you take a photo with the camera flash that shows the child’s eye color is abnormal.
. The child has an unusual reaction to bright light. The child’s eye infection may not have healed yet.
. Drooping eyelids or itchy eyes.
. Constant watery eyes.
In case of the above mentioned symptoms, it is important to show the child to an ophthalmologist immediately so that he can prescribe a medical prescription after examining him.

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