Eyeball licking trend ups risk of contracting conjunctivitis, corneal ulcer

A new trend among Japanese teens called oculolinctus, also known as “eyeball licking” or “worming,” has gone viral.

The practice, in which teens show affection by licking their partner’s eyeballs, may have started with a scene in a music video released last year from the Japanese band Born, which features a dramatic slow-motion scene of oculolinctus, ABC News reported.

But experts are concerned that even if oculolinctius is done sparingly or on a dare, it could have very real consequences.

Dr. Robert Cykiert, an associate professor in the department of ophthalmology at the New York University Langone Medical Center, said the surface of a healthy eye is normal mostly sterile, while the mouth is filled with bacteria and food particles.

Cykier warns that when you get licked on the eye, you’re transferring dangerous bacteria to the eye, so it’s a very dangerous trend.

He said transferring bacteria to the eye leaves people with a higher risk of contracting conjunctivitis or, more seriously, a corneal ulcer.