Why do your eyes water when cutting onions and how to avoid it

Why do onions sting your eyes? The main reasons why the eyes sting

Know!
Many patients describe the tingling in the eyes as a burning sensation and . Often with such a symptom, you can notice other accompanying signs in the form

uncontrolled tearing

Sometimes a person has a tingling sensation accompanied by photophobia and redness of the conjunctival membrane.

In this case, there may be an irresistible urge to scratch or rub the eyes, but as a rule, this only leads to an increase in the symptom.

Depending on the disease, this sensation may be strong and constant, but may occur for short periods and go away on its own.

There can be many reasons for the appearance of such an unpleasant symptom as pinching eyes. The main factors provoking such unpleasant manifestations are the following.

1. Cosmetic products and household chemicals.
   In most cases, this is what causes the eyes to sting. Inappropriate or low-quality cosmetics and household chemicals, when they come into contact with the mucous membrane of the eye, become, albeit the smallest, a foreign object that the body tries to eliminate. This is why lacrimation and a pinching feeling occur. In most cases, you can get rid of this feeling by washing with clean water. In some cases, the compositions of decorative cosmetics cause not only a stinging feeling, but also redness, which can be relieved with the help of medications. As a rule, a few hours are enough for the eyes to fully recover.
2. Diseases of the visual organs.
   Many pathological conditions lead to stinging of the eyes. Quite often, the first symptom of many diseases is stinging of the eyes. Subsequently, redness, itching and other unpleasant symptoms may appear, but this is not at all necessary. In most cases, this manifestation is characteristic of infectious conjunctivitis. But there are also many other pathologies with similar symptoms.
3. Allergic manifestations. Quite often, various allergic manifestations are expressed by itching or tingling. Unlike household chemicals, washing your face won't help. Unpleasant symptoms will be guarded until the allergen is eliminated.
4. Spending a long time at the computer. Unpleasant symptoms can also occur from prolonged use of a computer. In this state, a person blinks less often, the mucous membrane dries out, and the eyes become overtired, and this becomes the cause. To eliminate this unpleasant manifestation, it is necessary to reduce the time you use the PC and systematically exercise your eyes.
5. Use of corrective lenses. If you wear lenses for a long time, use them incorrectly, or neglect the terms of use, unpleasant consequences can occur. A pinching feeling is the most harmless of possible manifestations. To prevent this, you should not get carried away with lenses and, if possible, wear glasses.

Why does onion sting your eyes? Why do your eyes water when cutting onions and how to avoid it?

The production of tears is a natural reaction of the body to the influence of unfavorable factors. Sunlight, wind or cold can cause tears. But why do onions make your eyes water?

Why do our eyes water when cutting onions?

The cause of tearing is the body's reaction to volatile sulfur compounds contained in onions. By chopping onions, we damage the integrity of the plant cells, resulting in the release of sulfur oxide into the air.

Next, volatile sulfur enters the mucous membrane of the eyes and nose, dissolves in the water contained there and turns into acid. This causes a defensive reaction - the organ of vision begins to water and a runny nose appears.

What can you do?

The key to solving the problem is to understand the physical and chemical processes behind this phenomenon. Here are some prevention tips.

• Wash the peeled onion in cold water and wet your knife and cutting board. Water is an excellent solvent; it will slow down the spread of phytoncides.
• Before cooking, place the onion in the refrigerator or freezer, as cold slows down chemical processes, which means the essential oils will be less active.
• Ventilate the kitchen well, use a hood. This will remove volatiles from the air.
• Wear glasses to prevent onion juice from splashing on your vision.
• Use kitchen appliances such as a food processor or blender.
• Turn on the burner or place a burning candle nearby to neutralize sulfur-containing volatile substances.

The fact that the eyes water from onions is not considered a violation and does not require treatment. However, if your eyes are watering not due to the action of onions or other unfavorable factors, you should consult an ophthalmologist. So, irritation may occur due to drying out of the mucous membrane, in which case you can use moisturizing drops.

If your eyes are already watering, rinse them with warm water after washing your hands. Then you can go out into the fresh air, and then drop in Artificial Tear drops, they will moisturize your eyes and relieve irritation.

See interesting ways to cut onions without crying:

Next time you're chopping an onion, try one or more tips to keep your eyes from watering. You may know other options that could help your eyes not water. We will be glad if you write about them in your comments. Drops to reduce intraocular pressure, you will find the answer in the link.

Tears from onions: benefits and harms

Sulfuric acid, which affects the ocular mucous membrane, has such a weak concentration that it is not possible to talk about any harmful effects upon short-term exposure to the organs of vision. Usually we are talking about the benefits and harms of the profuse lacrimation that it causes. It is worth noting that when people come into contact with onions, they do not at all want to cry and they, in fact, do not cry, although their eyes often hurt. They just shed a lot of tears.

• The benefits of tears are:
• moisturizing the organs of vision;
• bactericidal properties, due to which pathogenic microflora in the mucous membrane is destroyed;
• delivery of nutrients to the cornea;
• creating a liquid film on the eye, a kind of water lens, thanks to which visual acuity improves.

Why onions sting children's eyes. Abstract of the educational activity “Let's plant onions for seven ailments”

Nina Kuznetsova Abstract of the NOD “Let's plant onions for seven ailments”

Summary of GCD in the middle group

"Let's plant onions for seven ailments"

Goals: Teach children to plant onions; to consolidate children's knowledge about the structure of the bulb, about the conditions necessary for plant growth (soil, moisture, light, heat); strengthen the skills of watering plants; learn to set a goal, prepare and clean the workplace.

Foster a desire to achieve results, participate in a common cause, and develop work skills. Arouse in children a cognitive interest in growing onions and a desire to care for them.

Preliminary work: examining the bulb; reading chapters from the fairy tale “The Adventures of Cipollino” by Gianni Rodari; conversation about the medicinal properties of onions.

Materials: magic bag, medium-sized bulbs, a box of soil, jars and cups for onions, gardener’s kits, watering cans, aprons; bulbs of different colors: white, brown, red, purple; colour pencils; Coloring pages with characters from the fairy tale “Cipollino”.

GCD move:

1. Organizational moment.

— Guys, a fabulous guest has come to us. Guess who it is?

Long unknown to many,

He became everyone's friend.

Why onions sting your eyes research. Why does onion sting my eyes?

RESEARCH WORK “WHY DO ONIONS STING YOUR EYES” Completed by Elizaveta Odnorogova, 4th grade student of Municipal Educational Institution “PSOSH No. 2” 2012-2013 academic year Introduction Problem: How to peel onions without tears? Topic: Why do onions sting your eyes? Hypothesis: I assumed that onions contain some unusual substance that causes eye irritation. The purpose of the study: to find out why tears flow from the eyes when peeling and cutting onions. Research objectives: 1. Study information on the research topic in different sources. 2. Conduct an experiment “How to peel without tears onions? illness” - this wisdom has come to us from the depths of centuries. Onions, one of the most valuable and most widespread vegetable crops, have been known since the 4th millennium BC. And in Russia this crop has been cultivated since the 12th century. It contains a large number of various mineral salts, vitamins, essential oils that have bactericidal properties. Onions contain many vitamins including C, PP, E, B1, B3, B6. Onions have long been considered a good remedy for the treatment of many diseases. In Ancient Greece, onions were considered to have divine origins. Onions were highly valued in Ancient Egypt; images of them are found in caves and on the walls of the most ancient buildings. The Romans and Greeks attributed onions the ability to awaken vitality and courage, so they were introduced in large quantities into the diet of warriors. The onion was even used as a talisman, which protected against the evil eye, the spell of evil sorcerers, and injury from an arrow, sword or spear. Onions are very widely used in cooking. It is added to salads, soups, sauces, meat and vegetable dishes, and decorates snacks. It doesn’t upset anyone, but makes everyone cry. So why does onion sting the eyes. It turns out that onion cells contain a volatile substance called lachrymator, and when we cut the onion, its molecules “reach” our eyes. When the tear fluid interacts with the “lacrimator,” sulfuric acid is formed, which begins to irritate the mucous membrane of the eye. What to do to prevent the onion from stinging the eyes when peeling and cutting? 1. Rinse the onion under cold water. It’s only good to wash off all the onion milk, which causes eye irritation. 2. You can rinse the knife in cold water, this will keep the esters on the knife and prevent them from getting into your eyes. 3. Another effective way is to freeze the onions, or at least for Place in the freezer for a few minutes. Under the influence of cold, the effect of the “lacrymator” weakens. 4. You can also put the onion in the microwave for a few seconds. Both under the influence of cold and under the influence of heat, the effect of the “lacrymator” weakens.

Ways to cut onions without tears

In the process of centuries-old use of onions, people have accumulated many techniques. helping to alleviate, or even completely neutralize, the effects of vegetable irritants on the eyes.

Most often used for this:

1. A sharp knife to minimize damage to the bulb cells.
2. When cutting onions, frequently wet the knife blade with cold water, which, by dissolving the lachrymator, reduces its release into the air.
3. Chop the onion under running cold water and in a container with the same water.
4. Cutting in a transparent plastic bag.
5. Jets of air from a fan that remove onion substances from a person and prevent them from getting into the eyes.
6. Soaking the bulbs and even keeping them in the freezer for a quarter of an hour, after which, indeed, it stings and hurts the organs of vision noticeably less, but at the same time it somewhat reduces the consumer quality of the vegetable.
7. Steam emanating from a nearby kettle or pan, which dissolves substances floating in the air, preventing them from reaching a person’s eyes.
8. Wetting the cutting board with table vinegar.

In addition to these popular and effective preventive agents, we can also name exotic ones in the form of:

• hanging onion peels on the ears;
• lighting gas burners and candles;
• singing or whistling tunes with your lips while chopping onions;
• chewing gum;
• tongue sticking out;
• putting on swimming goggles and even gas masks.

Unless you have a serious allergic reaction to onions, the brief burning sensation in your eyes and excessive tearing when cutting an onion, which the vast majority of people experience, usually does not cause them any major problems. And simple techniques can completely reduce them to nothing.