What do you call eye gunk? Official term is rheum, health experts say
The eye discharge you wake up with has a medical name — rheum — though many still use colloquial terms such as sleep or eye boogers
A social-media debate over what to call the gunk that collects in the eye overnight has gone viral, sparked by a post on X asking people to name it. The thread by user @manuukenya drew about 14.5 million views, 4,500 replies and 125,000 likes, illustrating how differently people talk about the same phenomenon.
Across replies, a range of terms surfaced, from casual to comic. Some said they simply call it sleep or variants such as sleepies or sleepy stuff. Others used eye boogers or eye crust to describe the discharge that forms in the corners of the eye after a night without blinking.
Medical experts and eye-health resources note that the true clinical name for eye discharge is rheum. The term may be unfamiliar in everyday speech, but it describes the mucus and debris produced by the tear film and ocular surfaces. Eye discharge serves a protective function, helping remove waste and debris from the tear film. When you blink, tears wash the rheum away, and while you sleep and do not blink, rheum can crust in the corners of the eyes.
While a small amount of rheum on waking is normal, heavy discharge can be a sign of a problem. Green or yellow discharge with blurry vision, light sensitivity or eye pain warrants prompt evaluation by an eye care professional.
On social media, some users expressed discomfort with using the formal term. A few posts mocked the word rheum, though health experts say the term is standard in ophthalmology and health writing.
Overall, the online discussion shows how language around common health experiences can diverge from scientific terminology even as professionals provide precise names and health guidance.