system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why is getting soap in your eyes harmful and what causes the burning sensation?

Rough shower this morning.
gpt
It's not just soap, though soap does have a more pronounced effect.

Your eyes are exceptionally sensitive to irritation, which can occur any time the layer of tears that constantly lubricates your cornea is disrupted or altered chemically.

Soap works by breaking the surface tension on water, allowing it to mix with other compounds so they're more easily removed from a surface. Unfortunately, when you get it in your eyes, it disrupts the tear layer on your eyes and also contaminates them. Most of the compounds in soap are irritants, and even if the soap isn't actually *damaging* your eyes, your body will automatically react with pain because of how delicate and important your eyes are. In essence, so many things hurt your eyes because your body is extremely protective of them.

Most soaps aren't actually harmful to your eyes, by the way, and won't cause long-term damage unless you're using them like eyedrops every morning.