Norfolk & Wrentham July 2017

Page 16 Norfolk & Wrentham Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com July 2017
Living Healthy
Preventing Eye Injuries at Home
By Roger M. Kaldawy, M.D.,
Milford Franklin Eye Center
Summer is here and everyone
is busy in and around the house.
Protecting your eyes from injury
is one of the most basic strategies
to keep your vision healthy
throughout your life. You may
be somewhat aware of the possible
risks of eye injuries, but are
you taking the easiest step of all
to prevent 90% of those injuries:
wearing the proper protective
eyewear? If you are not taking
this step, you are not alone.
According to a national survey
by the American Academy of
Ophthalmology, only 35% of respondents
said they always wear
protective eyewear when performing
home repairs or maintenance;
even fewer do so while
playing sports.
Eye Injury Facts
and Myths
Men are more likely to sustain
an eye injury than women. Most
people believe that eye injuries
are most common on the job —
especially in the course of work
at factories and construction
sites. But, in fact, nearly half
(44.7%) of all eye injuries occurred
in the home. More than
40 % of eye injuries are caused
by projects and activities such as
home repairs, yard work, cleaning
and cooking. More than a
third (34.2%) of injuries in the
home occurred in living areas
such as the kitchen, bedroom,
bathroom, living or family room.
More than 40% of eye injuries
every year are related to sports or
recreational activities. Eyes can
be damaged by sun exposure, not
just chemicals, dust or objects.
Among all eye injuries, more
than 78% were in people not
wearing eyewear at the time of
injury. Of those reported to be
wearing eyewear of some sort
at the time of injury (including
glasses or contact lenses),
only 5.3% were wearing safety
or sports glasses.
You might think that the family
home is a fairly unthreatening
setting. However, medical statistics
tell a different story: nearly
half of all eye injuries each year
occur in and around the home,
and home-based injuries are increasing
each year.
This alarming trend is why
the American Academy of Ophthalmology
and the American
Society of Ocular Trauma now
recommend that every household
have at least one pair of
ANSI-approved protective eyewear
for use during projects and
activities that may present risk of
injury.
Eye Injuries during
Fourth of July
Celebrations:
Happy 4th of July to all! It
will be a great day to celebrate
our nation’s Independence. Unfortunately,
along with the 4th of
July celebrations come a lot of
injuries from personal fireworks.
Eye injuries from fireworks can
be especially debilitating. Public
fireworks displays are regarded as
safe, and have a lower incidence
of personal injuries. An estimated
10,500 injuries occur from
fireworks each year. Children
are frequent victims, as 35% of
individuals injured by fireworks
were age 15 and under. Children
under 5 years old were most
commonly injured by sparklers.
Roughly 1 in 5 of those caused
trauma to the eye. The eye injuries
were most commonly caused
by firecrackers. Avoid firecrackers,
as they should only be handled
by professionals.
Common Eye Injury
Risks in the House:
1. Using hazardous products
and chemicals such as
oven cleaner and bleach
for cleaning and other
chores (accidents involving
common household
products cause 125,000
eye injuries each year).
2. Cooking foods can that
can splatter hot grease
or oil.
3. Opening champagne
bottles during a
celebration.
4. Drilling or hammering
screws or nails into walls
or hard surfaces like brick
or cement; the screws or
nails can become projectiles,
or fragments can
come off the surface.
5. Using hot objects such as
curling irons around the
face; inadvertent contact
with the user’s eyes can
cause serious injury.
6. Loose rugs and railings or
other hazards that could
cause falls or slips.
Common Injury Risks in
the Yard:
1. Mowing the lawn.
2. Using a power trimmer
or edger.
3. Clipping hedges and
bushes.
Common Eye Injury
Risks in the Garage or
Workshop:
1. Using tools (power or
hand).
2. Working with solvents or
other chemicals.
3. Any task that can produce
fragments, dust
particles or other eye irritants.
4. Securing equipment or
loads with bungee cords.
For all of these activities, it’s
important to remember that
bystanders also face significant
risk and should take precautions
against eye injuries too. This is
particularly important for children
who watch their parents
perform routine chores in and
around the home. Bystanders
should wear eye protection too
or leave the area where the chore
is being done.
Preventing Eye Injuries
at Home
Wearing protective eyewear
will prevent 90% of eye injuries,
so make sure that your home has
at least one approved pair and
that you and your family members
wear the eyewear when risks
come into play.
There will still be occasions
when accidents and injuries
happen. Consider taking some
of these safety steps around the
home to diminish the risks even
more:
1. Read the labels of chemicals
and cleaners carefully,
and don’t mix products.
2. Secure rugs and railings.
3. Cushion sharp corners
and edges of furnishings
and home fixtures if you
have children or the elderly
in your house.
4. Check the lawn or the
outdoor area where you
will be working for debris
that can become a projectile.
5. Keep your tools in good
condition; damaged tools
should be repaired or
replaced.
6. Make sure that all spray
nozzles are directed
away from you.
7. Use grease shields on frying
pans to protect from
splattering.
Our center and ophthalmologists
have state of the art equipment
to diagnose and treat many
eye problems, including eye injuries.
Learn how to recognize an
eye injury and get appropriate
care if you or a family member
is injured at home, even if you
think the injury is trivial. We are
now able to better understand
and manage these problems and
continue our mission to provide
world class eye care for the entire
family.
For more details, see our ad on the
front page.
Our Ad & Editorial Deadline is the 15th of the month,
for the following month’s issue
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