Some eye injuries cause significant damage immediately, while others seemingly heal quickly but increase your risks of developing long-term eye conditions, such as cataracts. While 50% of eye injuries occur in the home, a few common sense precautions will limit your risks.
1. Use Grease Shields When Cooking
Hot oil and grease “pop,” allowing searing droplets to propel from the pan and hit your eye, causing significant damage and pain. Instead of risking this mishap, use grease shields to cover pans and greatly reduce the risk of oil splattering into your eye.
2. Wear Safety Glasses for Home Improvement
Home improvement projects often produce small flying debris. You can reduce your risk of eye injury by as much as 90% by simply wearing protective eyewear when engaging in potentially dangerous activities, such as drilling, hammering and any type of interior construction.
3. Use Chemicals Safely
125,000 people per year suffer eye injuries due to household chemicals. Two of the most common chemicals that cause injury are oven cleaner and bleach. You can avoid these injuries by thoroughly reading and following safety and usage instructions and never mixing potentially dangerous chemicals.
4. Secure All Flooring
Loose flooring is a tripping hazard. All it takes is a single slip and fall to hit your eye on something that can cause injury. You can avoid slips and falls by securing items, such as rugs and carpeting, with non-slip pads. Additionally, if you have any sharp edges around your home, pad them to reduce the risk of injury if you do fall.
5. Perform Lawn Maintenance Safely
Always wear protective eyewear outside when performing any landscaping. Much like interior home maintenance projects, mowing, trimming and edging can send debris flying into the air, and potentially into your eyes. Safety glasses will reduce the risk of serious eye injury from any of these activities.
6. Guard Againsts Falling or Flying Objects
When working in the garage, a workshop or outside, you need to be cautious of your surroundings. Falling objects can easily hit your eye. If you’re using a bungee cord or a tightened rope, for example, they can easily fail, snap back and hit the eye. It’s well worth the few moments of prevention to wear safety equipment and protect your eyes.
Following the basic safety tips above will reduce your risk of eye injury, but if you do experience an injury, be sure to seek out medical attention. For relatively minor injuries, contact your local eye doctor to schedule an examination. More substantial injuries may require a trip to the emergency room, likely followed by a consultation with an ophthalmologist.
At North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care, we treat patients with a variety of eye conditions, from traumatic eye injuries to specialized surgical needs to standard prescription eyeglass and contact lens prescriptions.
For all your vision needs, contact the eye experts at North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care at 352-373-4300.