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The 3 Most Common Eye Injuries And Tips For Preventing Them

October 3, 2013

Keep your eyes safe during October’s Eye Injury Prevention Month with these tips.

There are a lot of things that you should do in order to keep your eyes safe and healthy―keep them protected from direct sunlight, schedule yearly eye examinations with your eye doctor, protect them when playing physical sports or participating in dangerous activities, etc. However, the easiest way to prevent the most common, and most frequent, eye injuries is to protect them from the injuries that happen in your day-to-day life.

eye injury

While many people acknowledge that our eyes are two of the most important parts of our body, they do not often protect them the way that they would other body parts. This is often because, when it comes to doing a dangerous task or activity, you want a clear view of what you’re doing in order to ensure everything goes smoothly. However, a clear view doesn’t have to mean exposing your eyes to dangerous vision injuries.

To help you keep your eyes safe during October’s Eye Injury Prevention Month, and every month after, here are three of the most common day-to-day eye injuries and some tips on how you can protect yourself from them:

1. A Chemical Burn

If you are simply doing some household cleaning or working on a DIY project in the garage, you may not think about the dangerous substances that you are working with. However, all it takes is a splash of harsh cleaning chemicals or automotive fluid in your eye to send you to the hospital with a serious chemical burn. Therefore, when working with both acid and alkali substances, as well as any other harsh cleaning chemicals, you should always wear protective goggles that shield your eyes from the liquids you are working with.

2. A Scratched Eye

One of the most common eye injuries for both adults and children is a scratched eye, also known as a corneal abrasion. This can be caused by rubbing your eye when there is a sharp substance inside, getting poked in the eye with a sharp object, or even simply getting dirt or sand in your eyes. If any of these situations happen to you, do NOT rub your eye. Instead, try and flush your eye out with some water and see your eye doctor as soon as possible to check for serious injuries.

3. A Physical Blow To The Eye

If you are active in sports or simply like to rough house with your friends in the backyard on Sunday mornings, you may have seen someone take a harsh blow to the eye before, whether with a baseball, an accidental elbow or any other harsh object. While you may see signs of swelling and bruising right away after this kind of rough contact, it is still important to see a doctor to check for any internal damage or vision loss. Sports safety goggles are also another helpful accessory to prevent these eye injuries from happening in the future.

Have you ever experienced any of the vision injuries mentioned above? Be sure to share your tips for avoiding hazardous eye injuries in the comments below. Also be sure to stay tuned for more blog posts for October’s Eye Injury Awareness month all month long!

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