See Safely: How to Prevent Different Types of Eye Injuries

Understanding Common Eye Injuries

Before diving into how to prevent your eyes from getting injured, it’s crucial to understand the types of eye injuries that can occur.

Foreign Object Injuries

Tiny particles like dust, dirt, wood chips, or metal shavings can quickly enter your eyes if you’re not careful. Not only can they cause discomfort, redness, and watery eyes, but they can cause more severe injuries such as corneal abrasions. This eye damage can be painful and may require medical attention depending on the severity.

Blunt Trauma

Blunt trauma is when an object strikes you in the eye. Getting hit in the eye with a ball while playing sports, getting into a car accident, or even falling on your eye can be considered blunt force trauma. This blunt trauma to your eyes can lead to fractures in the bones surrounding the eye, retinal detachment, a black eye, and potentially even loss of vision. Getting hit in the eye with an object, especially if it’s moving at fast speeds, is no joke.

Chemical Burns

Being exposed to chemicals, whether at home, work, or during other activities, can lead to intense eye burns. Chemicals can come into contact with your eyes from spray bottles, from touching your eyes after you’ve touched a chemical, or from the splashing of a chemical. The severity of your eye injury and pain depends on the chemical type and concentration. It’s crucial to immediately and thoroughly rinse your eyes out with water in case of chemical exposure.

Eye Penetration Injuries

Eye penetration injuries occur when the eye gets penetrated by an object, usually sharp objects. Sharp objects like scissors, knives, or projectiles from power tools can penetrate the eye and cause severe damage. These injuries can happen if you’re not careful handling sharp objects or if somebody around you is unsafe. Eye penetration injuries can also occur during car accidents and other accidents. These injuries are always severe and require immediate medical attention to minimize long-term damage. 

How to Prevent Eye Injuries

There are several ways to keep our eyes safe.

Be Mindful Around Chemicals

Always wear safety goggles designed to protect you from chemical exposure when dealing with household cleaning agents, gardening chemicals, or industrial compounds. Adequate ventilation and careful handling can also minimize the risk of chemical burns. Make sure to read all instructions before handling harmful chemicals.

Sports Safety

Individuals who play sports should prioritize wearing protective eyewear when participating in activities involving eye injury risk. Sports like racquetball, basketball, and hockey involve high-speed projectiles and physical contact, making eye protection very important. Protecting your eyes during sports is especially important if you wear glasses or contact lenses.

Use Tools Properly

Tools are one of the most common reasons for severe eye injuries. Tools that produce flying debris, like drills, saws, and sanders, pose a risk to your eyes, whether at home or on the job. Always wear protective eyewear that meets safety standards and ensure the tools are in good working condition. It’s also important to read all directions properly to have somebody else near you in an emergency.

Wear Protective Eyewear

Even though we mention protective eyewear in the previous sections, we can’t talk enough about its importance. Any task that involves the potential for eye injury should prompt you to wear protective eyewear. Safety goggles, face shields, and even full-face respirators offer critical protection against flying debris, chemical splashes, and more. Wear protection during activities such as woodworking, playing sports, and using chemicals. When in doubt, wear protective eyewear.

Seek First-Aid Immediately

In the unfortunate event of an eye injury, you need to avoid rubbing your eyes not to make the damage worse. You should gently rinse your eye with clean water and seek immediate medical attention for a professional evaluation and treatment.