Notes and References. 1  U.S. Senate: Reference Home > Glossary > Christmas tree bill. 2  Lardner, George (1966) The Day Congress Played Santa: A Look at the Christmas Tree Bill, Washington Post, 25 December, p. A1, A10. 3  Shribman, David (1983) It Began as a Rather Ordinary Piece of Legislation, New York Times, 9 November, p. A22.
When the individual is awake, blinking of the eyelid causes rheum to be washed away with tears via the nasolacrimal duct. The absence of this action during sleep, however, results in a small amount of dry rheum accumulating in corners of the eye, most notably in children.
Other slang terms used to describe eye discharge include eye boogers, eye mattering, eye gunk and eye pus. Sometimes called rheum, eye discharge has a protective function, removing waste products and potentially harmful debris from the tear film and the front surface of your eyes.