A serious eye injury — just the mention of it probably makes you cringe. However, it is very likely that you are skimping on protective and preventive measures, as up to 90 percent of eye injuries are completely preventable. Let’s review the importance of eye safety and simple ways to keep you and your family protect from eye injuries.
Eye injuries can cause vision loss or blindness. It’s important to be able to recognize some of the most common causes of eye injuries, which include:
- Punches
- Blows from sports
- Chemical splashes
- Flying pieces of material or objects
Protective Eyewear is a MUST
Most people believe that eye injuries typically occur on the job or while playing sports, but the reality is over 50 percent of them occur in the home. The single most important thing factor in reducing your risk of eye injury is to wear the proper protective eyewear. It is recommended that every household have at least one pair of ANSI-approved protective eyewear, which is available at most hardware stores. Unfortunately, only about 35 percent of people wear protective eyewear when doing home projects or repairs.
Eye Injury Risks around the House:
- Using hazardous products and chemicals such as oven cleaner or bleach for cleaning
- Using tools (power and/or hand)
- Cooking foods can that can splatter hot grease or oil
- Using hot objects such as curling irons around the face
- Projectiles from mowing the lawn, using a power trimmer or edger
- Clipping hedges and bushes
- Working with solvents or other chemicals
- Sawing that produces a heavy amount of dust particles
Besides protective eyewear, these are other steps you can take around the house to prevent eye injuries:
- Read the labels of chemicals and cleaners
- Secure rugs
- Check the lawn or the outdoor area for debris before you mow, trim or edge
- Make sure that all spray nozzles are directed away from you
- Use grease shields on frying pans
