Comments on: "Eye boogers" is not the appropriate term.

Question: "Eye boogers" is not the appropriate term.

angry modem — Thu, 20 May 2004 07:14:15 -0800

What is the scientific/official name of the crap that forms in the corners of your eyes while sleeping?

By: mbd1mbd1

mbd1mbd1 — Thu, 20 May 2004 07:22:15 -0800

Growing up, I always called them sleepy bugs. Here is the Harvard Dialect Survey result on this topic.

I don't know if there is a scientific name.

By: eastlakestandard

eastlakestandard — Thu, 20 May 2004 07:22:44 -0800

eye boogers?

By: mattr

mattr — Thu, 20 May 2004 07:34:38 -0800

I think in France they call it : cacas d'yeux (my french may be rubbish...but literally translated : poo of the eye!)

By: Quartermass

Quartermass — Thu, 20 May 2004 07:37:47 -0800

We call it "sleep"

By: Succa

Succa — Thu, 20 May 2004 07:47:48 -0800

Metafilter: Poo of the eye!

I've always heard "eye boogers". How about "ocular crust"?

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Thu, 20 May 2004 07:52:58 -0800

Mom always called it 'sleep', but as a kid, I always figured it was the sand left by the sandman. :-P

I recall from somewhere the stuff is actually protein deposits.

By: gramcracker

gramcracker — Thu, 20 May 2004 07:59:05 -0800

I believe "crud-ola" is the official term.

By: gleuschk

gleuschk — Thu, 20 May 2004 08:02:16 -0800

I've always called it "sleep" too, which is one of those quirks of language that makes my head spin round.

By: vito90

vito90 — Thu, 20 May 2004 08:13:56 -0800

Round these parts we call it "ocular cheese"

By: kokogiak

kokogiak — Thu, 20 May 2004 08:17:19 -0800

Isn't that just sand (you know, from the sandman coming at night, throwing it in your eyes)?

By: widdershins

widdershins — Thu, 20 May 2004 08:23:18 -0800

We call it eye juice.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Thu, 20 May 2004 08:41:34 -0800

When you are sleeping
And your eyes start seeping
You may think it's funny
But it snot

By: vignettist

vignettist — Thu, 20 May 2004 08:42:32 -0800

Since I wear contacts, I would tend to agree with Goofyy, I think it's protein deposits (though a cursory Google search hasn't turned up anything that would back me up).

FWIW, around our house anything gooey - icky is always "gunga", i.e. "You have gunga in your eye".

By: waxpancake

waxpancake — Thu, 20 May 2004 08:44:37 -0800

Mucopurulent mattering in the punctum. From this page: "The mattering present in the corners of the eyes on awakening represents dried tear mucous built up overnight."

By: gleuschk

gleuschk — Thu, 20 May 2004 09:03:12 -0800

Mucopurulent mattering in the punctum

Sounds way more disgustinger than the French version, even after translation. Especially when you realize that purulent means "having undergone infection; 'festering sores'; 'an infected wound'". Ew. (The medical def. of purulent, of course, just means "pus-related," which is so much better.)

By: picea

picea — Thu, 20 May 2004 09:08:02 -0800

"Mucopurulent mattering in the punctum" sounds so great. I love it. It's too long to be a band name or a pet name, but it must be used for something...

I've always liked the term 'cruft' for eye gunk. It has a gross ring to it.

By: kokogiak

kokogiak — Thu, 20 May 2004 09:32:16 -0800

I love the verb/noun "Mattering" from Waxy's definition above. How to use this in the future... "Eww, there's some mattering in the tub drain."

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Thu, 20 May 2004 09:36:53 -0800

i haven't had this stuff ("sleepy sand" where i come from) since i was a kid. as far as i know. do i just not notice and wash it away on a morning?

By: tommasz

tommasz — Thu, 20 May 2004 09:37:58 -0800

'Mucopurulent mattering in the punctum'? You try telling that to a 2-year-old (or a 14-year-old, for that matter).

I vote for 'sleep'.

By: ralawrence

ralawrence — Thu, 20 May 2004 09:42:05 -0800

Here in the UK, I've always hear it referred to as "sleepy dust".

This site claims that it's just a mixture of sweat, oil from your skin, and a lot of tears.

It goes on to say "When you're awake your eyelashes act like windshield wipers. They remove the tears that drip down from over a dozen tubes above your eyes, and they catch and filter out all the other crap floating around. But when you go to sleep, so do they. They don't work, and when they're not working all that goopy stuff constantly assaulting your eyes during the day has a chance to accumulate in the corner of your eye.".

Not to be harsh but a google search of "what is the gunk in your eyes after you have slept?" found this. You can probably find a more authoratitive site though.

By: jennyb

jennyb — Thu, 20 May 2004 11:18:14 -0800

My mom called them "sleepers". Which, come to think of it, is what I call them, too. Not as perplexing as "sleep" and not as icky as "eye boogers".

By: titanshiny

titanshiny — Thu, 20 May 2004 12:57:51 -0800

According to Rich Hall's Sniglets (anyone remember those?), the correct term is:

Nocturnuggets (nok' ter nuh gitz) - n. Deposits found in one's eye upon awakening in the morning, also called: GOZZAGAREENA, OPTIGOOK, EYEHOCKEY, etc.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Thu, 20 May 2004 13:36:42 -0800

This isn't a question you'd bother to ask in Spanish since there is a clear, unambiguous word for it: lagañas

In fact, it was common to approach the breakfast table and have your mother look at you and say "Clean those lagañas from your eyes" (in spanish, of course)

I was looking around and found a California Dept. of Health Services spanish/english dictionary of medical terms (pdf) The entry for lagañas translates it as 'sleepy-dust'

By: angry modem

angry modem — Thu, 20 May 2004 15:42:57 -0800

I did google, but used the word crap. :-)

By: piskycritter

piskycritter — Thu, 20 May 2004 15:43:43 -0800

This reminds me of the throat cheese thread.

By: mdn

mdn — Thu, 20 May 2004 16:17:39 -0800

My mom called them "sleepers". Not as perplexing as "sleep" and not as icky as "eye boogers".

I dunno, calls to mind vague sci fi weirdness, and (maybe 'cause it rhymes with "creepers"?) sounds more ominous and creepy than eye boogers to me, which just seems sort of cutely gross, if that makes sense. It's like the little sister of boogers, basically the same but somehow sweeter & gentler.

I've always called it "sleep", although what it actually is, I would think coldchef got. It's just mucus in a different place.

i haven't had this stuff since i was a kid. .. do i just not notice and wash it away on a morning?

Might depend on how you sleep or something - I get it sometimes but I certainly don't notice it every morning. I feel as if I have more of it if I have slept a long time - overslept. It also may change along with diet, allergies (if your eyes water a lot, you'd doubtless accumulate more overnight) etc. Probably just like you get more colds as a kid, you get more eye gunk as a kid, as your immune system learns how to work efficiently.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Thu, 20 May 2004 16:34:09 -0800

Quick ask round the social circle at the pub (UK). 5 votes for sleep, and one for sandyman.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 21 May 2004 08:19:22 -0800

Another word (literary rather than technical) is "rheum," although that has a wider sense.

vacapinta: Isn't the standard word legañas?

In my family we called it "sleep."

By: waxpancake

waxpancake — Fri, 21 May 2004 09:50:02 -0800

Languagehat wins the accuracy contest.