Each year, thousands of children suffer eye injuries or blindness due to accidents that could have been prevented. Safety should always be the main concern when it comes to activities that could potentially cause damage to your child’s eyes.
Injury Prevention Inside The House
Even in the safety of your own home, there are many situations that could lead to a serious eye injury. Injuries can be avoided by following these tips:
- Keeping harmful sprays or chemicals out of reach of small children
- Using caution with common items such as paper clips, pencils, scissors, wire hangers or rubber bands, as they all have the potential to cause serious eye injuries
- Providing only age-appropriate toys that meet national safety standards, and avoiding toys with sharp points like darts or arrows
- Always requiring your child to wear protective eyewear during potentially dangerous yard work or repair projects
Preventing Injuries Away From Home
It is especially important to use caution when you go out, as you have even less control of the surroundings than you do at home. Some precautions you can take to lower the risk of kids’ eye injuries while outside are:
- Children should wear protective eyewear made with polycarbonate lenses when playing sports such as baseball, basketball, racquet sports or lacrosse
- Kids should not be allowed to play with pellet or BB guns
- Fireworks are very dangerous, including bottle rockets, and children should not be anywhere near them
- Kids should be taught to be very careful around dogs while out, as dog bites account for many eye injuries
Caring For Injuries / First Aid
If an eye injury occurs, your primary care doctor or eye doctor should examine the eye as soon as possible. If chemicals are involved, the eye should be flushed out right away. In other situations, it is best to gently cover the eye and seek medical attention before applying pressure or medication, or trying to remove any imbedded object.
Family Vision Development Center in Aurora, IL is here for all of your vision needs. From routine eye exams, to investigating and diagnosing more serious conditions, and providing protective eyewear, we are experienced professionals you can trust with the care of your child’s eyes. Contact us at 630-862-2020 to schedule your appointment today.
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