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Each October, the American Academy of Ophthalmologists encourage eye care professionals to remind their patients about taking care of their eyes at home. Between yard work and Halloween, October is a particularly dangerous time for vision. More than one million people per year are affected by an eye injury and 90 percent of these injuries could have been prevented had the individuals been wearing protective eyewear or known the risks in advance. Here are some tips to share with your patients to help them avoid serious injury.

Understanding the problem

Most people believe that eye injuries are most common on the job — especially in factories and on construction sites. According to an Eye Injury Snapshot survey conducted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Ocular Trauma, nearly 50 percent of eye injuries occur at home. Home repairs, yard work, cleaning, and cooking caused more than 40 percent of eye injuries. More than a third of those injuries in the home happened in the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room, or family room.

When reviewing eye health and safety with patients, remember to remind them about these common sources of household eye injuries:

• Yard work, such as lawn mowing (which can project small rocks or sticks from underneath the mower), hedge trimmers, and shoveling.
• Home improvement, such as using power tools, sanding, and sawing, or using potential projectiles such as nails and screws.
• Household products such as detergents, pesticides, cleaning solvents, and car batteries. Patients should pay special attention to highly alkali chemicals (drain cleaners, oven cleaners, ammonia-based window cleaners, and scouring powders) and highly acidic chemicals (rust removers, toilet bowl cleaners, bleaching solutions, and tile/grout cleaners).
• Cooking foods that may splatter hot oil or hot liquids.
• Using hot objects like curling irons near the face.
• Loose rugs, flooring, or railing that may cause falls or slips.
• Sports activities, such as basketball and airsoft sports can result in trauma to the eye or orbit.
• Ultraviolet exposure, including tanning beds and sunlight reflecting off pavement or water. 

Be sure your patients understand the importance of prescription sunglasses to protect them from ultraviolet light as well. Not only do we carry photochromic lenses, but we now carry Lucyd© Bluetooth prescription glasses and sunglasses. These optical frames offer a unique mix of designer styling, eye protection, and smart features that allow the wearer to listen to music or podcasts, talk on the phone and use voice assistants like Siri and Alexa without having to risk safety by wearing earbuds or headphones while they’re on the go. 

Halloween eye safety

To avoid a real-life Halloween horror story – going blind because of a costume accessory – the American Academy of Ophthalmology is again warning the public against wearing costume contact lenses purchased without a prescription. These illegally sold cosmetic lenses may not be sterile and can cause a host of serious eye problems.

In addition to costume-shop contacts, here are other Halloween eye safety tips to share with your patients.

• Both children and their parents should carry a flashlight when trick-or-treating to prevent falling or tripping in the dark.
• Most Halloween makeup is not formulated for eye safety so do not use it around the eyes. This includes applying fake blood or gore near the eyes and on the forehead in case of sweating.
• Avoid costumes that either fully or partially block vision.
• Avoid sharp or pointed costume props such as swords, wands, knives, and sticks that may injure your eye or the eyes of others.

At RandDOptical, one of the nation’s best independent labs, we understand the challenges eye care professionals face taking care of their patients and hope providing these tips makes it easier for you to provide a handout or when your team speaks with your patients. We also have a wide selection of safety frames, such as ArmouRx. Your patients will enjoy the high-quality and fashionable options ArmouRx offers. If you already carry Titmus safety frames, let us replace them (at no cost to you) for ArmouRx frame samples.

To find out more about how our VSPⓇ-authorized lab can serve your practice, please contact us via our website, or call us at 513-273-4034.