Ball Licking __LINK__

In 2013, oculolinctus reportedly became popular among teenagers in Japan, causing a significant rise in eye infections. According to a retracted article by The Guardian, eyeball-licking was "seen as a new second-base; the thing you graduate to when kissing gets boring", possibly due to it being featured in a music video by the Japanese band Born.[5] Further reports, e.g. in an article by the Huffington Post later corrected as a possible hoax, showed an increase in Japanese schoolchildren wearing eyepatches due to eye infections arising from the act, with one school finding one third of 12-year-old students admitting to engaging in oculolinctus.[4] There are also accounts of this practice in the U.S. Virgin Islands.[6]

ball licking

The practice is associated with significant health risks, as tongues are coated with a film of microorganisms and saliva has enzymes that can break down.[7] These microorganisms may cause infections in the eye such as conjunctivitis, herpes, chlamydia, corneal abrasions[5] and corneal ulcers.[8] Oral bacteria on the tongue can potentially enter corneal scratches caused by licking the eye, which then lead to infection.[9] 041b061a72