October is Eye Injury Prevention Month. Each year more than half of all eye injuries are a result of accidents that occur in the home. Most of these accidents could have been prevented by wearing the right eye protection and taking a proactive approach to eye safety. As your trusted eye doctors in Oak Lawn, we’ve put together a guide on preventing eye injuries just for you – read on to learn more.

How to prevent eye injuries

One of the first things you can do to prevent eye injuries from happening at home is to do a simple audit. This might include going around your home to identify potential eye hazard risks such as cleaning products being left out where children could find them or not having the right safety protection to prevent eye injury. So, once you’ve done this, what protective measures can you take to ensure your home is a safe haven for your eyes?

In the home

Firstly, it’s important to always exercise caution when handling cleaning products. Most cleaners contain dangerous chemicals which can really irritate or damage your eyes if they come into contact with them. It’s important to wear gloves for this reason so your hands don’t have any residue left on them – we touch our eyes by reflex more often than we realise, which can increase the risk of these chemicals harming then.

We also strongly advise against ever mixing cleaning chemicals as this can potentially cause a chemical reaction, creating vapors that could irritate or burn your eyes.

In the back yard

It’s important to take good care when carrying out tasks outside such as mowing or trimming. Bits of debris can fly up while using these machines, travelling at extremely high speeds and entering your eyes within seconds, causing scratches, abrasions, and sometimes more serious sight threatening injuries.

This is why it’s important to invest in protective goggles, or if it’s sunny, to wear sunglasses. These will not only shield your eyes from debris, but also protect them from prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays, which can cause cumulative damage to your eyes over the years.

Each year more than 10,000 Americans also end up in the emergency room with firework related injuries, including those that affect the eyes. Make sure to stay a safe distance from fireworks and to never position them towards where you are standing.

Protecting children from eye injuries

Children are always on the go. That’s why it’s important to make sure their eyes are protected, especially if they are playing sports. Goggles especially designed to wear during sports are the best option to protect their eyes from injuries.

Halloween contact lenses

We know you ideally want an amazing and realistic Halloween costume, but before you add Halloween contact lenses to your costume design, it’s important to make sure you are getting lenses that fit properly and are made from safe and medically approved materials.

Wearing Halloween contact lenses from an unauthorized vendor can lead to eye injuries such as:

• Abrasions
• Scratches
• Infection
• Blindness

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all Halloween contact lens. Our experienced contact lens specialists are here to advise you on finding the right Halloween contact lenses to go with your costume and ensure that they are safe to wear.

Eye injury treatment

If you think you’ve injured your eye, it’s important to seek help right away. Our highly experienced eye doctors can check your eyes and assess the severity of your eye injury, so we can then recommend the best solution, including arranging any referrals if necessary to ensure you get the urgent treatment.

Feel free to contact us and speak with an eye doctor at our Oak Lawn location – we’re always here to give you peace of mind when it comes to your eyes!