Eye Safety Awareness

Did you know Prevent Blindness America declared September as Sports and Home Eye Safety Month? According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) half of all eye injuries take place when doing everyday chores such as cleaning, doing yard work or working in the garage. Wearing eye protection helps prevent 90% of eye injuries. However, the AAO reports that a staggering 78% of injured people were not wearing protective eyewear when the accident took place.

Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America commented, “All too often, when we’re working around the house and doing chores that we’ve done a thousand times before without incident, we forget about the risks we take by not protecting our eyes. But all it takes is one split-second accident that could damage your vision for a lifetime.”

Prevent Blindness America strongly supports the AAO and the American Society of Ocular Trauma (ASOT). In their recommendation every household should have at least one pair of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved eyewear. The eyewear should have the “Z-87” logo stamped on the frames and are relatively inexpensive.

Safety eyewear should be worn when working with chemicals (bleach, acid, etc.) or equipment (car, yard, etc.) After working with any of these products it’s also important to thoroughly wash your hands or use a strong hand sanitizer.

Although accidents can and will happen you can always take extra precautions to avoid them or limit the potential damage. Safety glasses, emergency eye care and eye care products are a small investment to pay for a lifetime of vision.

Sources
Occupational Hazards
Prevent Blindness America