Japanese students have been practicing "oculolinctus," also known as eyeball licking to express their affection, but the act comes with health risks.
Doctor's have warned the strange practice can cause eye infections and even blindness, Mail Online reported.
The fetish is also called "worming," the Japanese website Naver Matome showed videos posted on YouTube of people performing the act.
Worming can transmit the bacteria responsible for the spread of conjunctivitis, people who participate in the activity can also get herpes of the eye. Worming is becoming popular outside of Japan as well.
"My boyfriend started licking my eyeballs years ago and I just loved it," Elektrika Energias, 29, a student in the U.S. Virgin Islands told The Huffington Post. "I'm not with him anymore, but I still like to ask guys to lick my eyeballs. I just love it because it turns me on, like sucking on my toes. It makes me feel all tingly."
The issue was brought to one school's attention when up to ten children from each year came to school wearing eye patches.
The school found out at least a third of the 12-year old students admitted to engaging in oculolinctus after a teacher identified on Naver Matome as only "Mr. Y" caught two students in the act.
"After class one day, I went into the equipment store in the gymnasium to tidy up. The door had been left open, and when I looked inside, a male pupil and a female pupil had their faces close together and were kind of fumbling around" Mr. Y said, according to Medical Daily. "'Could it be bullying?' I wondered, but when I had a good look, the boy was licking the girl's eye! Surprised, a shouted 'What are you doing? Stop it at once!' and the two of them were so shocked they jumped apart. The girl burst into tears, and the boy just went bright red and was shaken up."
Experts say this type of activity can cause a whole slew of medical issues.
"Nothing good can come of this," said Dr David Granet, a San Diego ophthalmologist, according to the Huffington Post. "There are ridges on the tongue that can cause a corneal abrasion. And if a person hasn't washed out their mouth, they might put acid from citrus products or spices into the eye."
Dr. Phillip Rizzuto of the American Academy of Ophthalmology said worming can also cause blindness if the bacteria found in the mouth does too much damage to eye tissue.
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