Rheum (; from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ῥεῦμα ''rheuma'' 'a flowing, rheum') is a thin mucus naturally discharged from the

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

nose A nose is a sensory organ and respiratory structure in vertebrates. It consists of a nasal cavity inside the head, and an external nose on the face. The external nose houses the nostrils, or nares, a pair of tubes providing airflow through the ...

, or

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

, often during sleep (contrast with

mucopurulent discharge Mucopurulent discharge is the emission or secretion of fluid containing mucus and pus (''muco-'' pertaining to ''mucus'' and ''purulent'' pertaining to ''pus'') from the eye, nose, cervix, vagina or other part of the body due to infection and inf ...

).Amodio, Aime
"Where Do Eye Boogers Come From?"
Families.com blogHiskey, Daven
"What the 'Sleep' In Your Eyes Is"
''Today I Found Out'', 23 February 2011. Rheum dries and gathers as a crust in the corners of the eyes or the mouth, on the eyelids, or under the nose. It is formed by a combination of

mucus Mucus (, ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both Serous fluid, serous and muc ...

(in the case of the eyes, consisting of

mucin Mucins () are a family of high molecular weight, heavily glycosylated proteins ( glycoconjugates) produced by epithelial tissues in most animals. Mucins' key characteristic is their ability to form gels; therefore they are a key component in ...

discharged from the

cornea The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...

or the Conjuctiva, conjunctiva), nasal mucus, blood cells, Skin, skin cells, or dust. Rheum from the eyes is particularly common. Dried rheum near the eyes is commonly called 'sleep', 'sleepy-seeds', 'sleepy buds',Eric Partridge, Paul Beale, ed., ''A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English'', 8th edition, 1984, ''s.v.'' 'sleepy sand', 'eye boogers', 'eye goop', 'sleepies', or 'eye gunk'. 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.

Medical conditions

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, preventing the patient from opening one or both of the eyes upon waking without prior cleansing of the eye area. The presence of pus in an instance of heavy rheum buildup can indicate dry eye or conjunctivitis, among other infections.

References

External links

{{Wiktionary
Eye Discharge

Why Is There Gunk in My Eye?
at WebMD Body fluids Ophthalmology Symptoms

Medical conditions

See also

References

External links