Ever Wonder Why We Get Eye Boogers? This Is What's Happening!

#1 What is this stuff, and where does it come from?

That crust is a type of rheum, a thin mucus naturally discharged from our eyes, noses and mouths

#2 The rheum that comes from the eyes and forms eye boogers is called gound,

which you may know as eye sand, eye gunk, sleep dust, sleep sand, sleep in your eyes, or eye shnooters.

#3 It is formed by a combination of mucus (in the case of the eyes, consisting of mucin discharged from the cornea or the conjunctiva),

nasal mucus, blood cells, skin cells, or dust.

#4 Rheum from the eyes is particularly common.

Dried rheum is in common usage called sleepies, e.g., to have sleep in one's eyes.

#5 When the individual is awake, blinking of the eyelid causes rheum to be washed away with tears via the nasolacrimal duct.

The absence of this action during sleep, however, results in a small amount of dry rheum accumulating in corners of the eye, most notably in children.

#6 A number of conditions can increase the production of rheum in the eye.

In the case of allergic conjunctivitis, the buildup of rheum can be considerable, many times preventing the sufferer from opening the eye upon waking without prior cleansing of the eye area.

#7 The presence of pus in an instance of heavy rheum buildup can indicate dry eye or conjunctivitis, among other infections.

#8 The tear ducts (that drain the tears) occasionally fail to open,

..resulting in the overflow of tears onto the cheeks (epiphora) and rheum deposition on the surrounding skin.

Remember to check out the video for a great rundown on your gound: