[mkl]

I would like to second the eye rubbing awareness. I have keratoconus in both eyes, and had two (donor) corneal transplants in the 1990s, in my teens. Even with them, my sight is not great, as the distortions from the transplant scarring and residual keratoconus around the edges are only partially correctable with regular glasses lenses (I think these artificial corneas would not be better). I had bad hayfever as a kid (and still do sometimes now) and rubbed my eyes a lot. I now think it's the most likely cause.

Don't let your kids rub their eyes!

[EvanAnderson]

I am in a similar boat-- fairly bad animal allergies and hay fever as a child accompanied with frequent and vigorous eye rubbing and now keratoconus (though, fortunately, not so far-progressed as to need corneal transplants).

My daughter has the same characteristic long eyelashes that I do, and exhibits allergies (though much less severe than mine). My wife and I have made a very strong effort to prevent her from eye-rubbing. She's old enough now to understand why we were so adamant about it.

I'm seeing elsewhere in this thread that nocturnal eye rubbing can be a problem. I never thought about that and it's a bit disturbing. I do remember waking-up with my eyes plastered shut with hardened mucus as a child.