Truth behind people thinking farting on a pillow can cause someone 'pink eye'

At one point, farting on someone's pillow in the hopes they would develop pink eye was considered a top-tier prank.

The bar for comedy was clearly on the floor in our high school days.

It became a pretty gross rite of passage during a sleepover or a party for people to let one slip on a friend's pillow so that they would hopefully wake up with a pair of sore peepers the following day.

Although it all sounds like good fun, pink eye can be a pretty painful experience.

You might notice your eyes are red, itchy, teary and have a gritty feeling, as well as being sensitive to light.

Another telltale sign of the infection, also referred to as conjunctivitis, is waking up with your eyelashes stuck together due to discharge creating a crust between them.

Despite it being an optical ordeal, it isn't likely to affect your vision - but it is highly contagious.

Getty stock images

Common causes of pink eye are allergies, bacterial infection, viral infection, getting something in your eye or a blocked tear duct, however, there is a belief that breaking wind on someone's pillow can also trigger it.

Well it turns out that this is completely false, despite what your friends told you as a teenager.

Dr. Amir Mozavi explained that farts are mostly made up of methane gas, which doesn't contain any bacteria - and even if it did, it would die quickly as soon as it emerges.

The point is that the bacteria would be what causes the pink eye, but as there isn't any present, it doesn't.

The medic described the farting on a pillow theory as a 'popular myth amongst school-age pranksters' in an article for Allina Health.

Getty stock images

On the other hand, if you did a massive dump on your best mates pillow then they would probably get pink eye.

The bacteria and viruses in excrement would irritate the eyes and this can even occur if you have fecal matter on your hands and then touch your eyes.

Yuck.

To avoid any kind of pink eye and the transmission of it, make sure your washing your hands thoroughly and often, try and avoid touching your eyes, getting rid of contaminated contact lenses and using clean washcloths and towels daily.

You should also avoid sharing personal items or cosmetics with others, as well as changing your pillowcases often - especially if someone has been trying the farting trick out on them.

Topics: Health, News, UK News, Weird

Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

@livburke_