An increasing number of women are suffering from keratitis, an inflammation of the cornea, due to excessive eye makeup and frequent wearing of contact lenses. According to HanGil Medical Foundation Hospital, women in their twenties accounted for 360, or 23.8 percent, of its 1,512 keratitis patients last year. The figure is 4.7 times greater than the 76 men in the same age range.

There was a significant increase in numbers of women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, with the latter two groups accounting for 151 and 98 people, respectively. In the age groups of 50s and 60s, when women begin to take less interest in beauty and cosmetics, men outnumbered women by 1.6 times.

The hospital's Dr. Cho Beom-jin said, "Young women have a higher chance of damaging their corneas, as they apply a lot of cosmetic products on their eyes, such as eye liner, eye shadow and mascara, as well as contact lenses."

Keratis accompanies symptoms of pain, red eyes, blurred and deteriorated eye sight. Those who wear contact lenses should limit their use to less than 12 hours at a time, and take extra caution on cleaning and maintaining their contacts.

It is best not to wear makeup on the eyes at all, but when it is inevitable, users should thoroughly remove it before going to bed, being careful to avoid cleansing products going into their eyes. After washing the face, a few drops of artificial teardrops will help cleanse any remaining makeup residue in the eyes.