How Can You Prevent Eye Injuries?
What do you mean by an eye damage?
Scratches, punctures, and bruising can cause eye damage. They may be brought on by mishaps, chemical exposure, or eye foreign items.
Immediately consult an ophthalmologist if you have an eye injury. Rest and home remedies can help certain eye injuries recover. Others may severely harm eyes and impair eyesight.
What eye injuries occur most frequently?
There are many degrees of eye damage. The following are some of the most typical eye injuries:
- Black eye: A black eye is the result of trauma to the eye or the tissue surrounding it. It hurts, is bloated, and has bruises around the eye. Another option is to cut the eyelid. The swelling may cause eyesight problems.
- Bleeding in the eye: Excessive strain (as during a cough) or injury to the eye can cause an eye surface hemorrhage (bleeding). A subconjunctival hemorrhage occurs when blood stains the conjunctiva, the transparent layer of skin that covers the sclera, the white component of the eye. Blood can also collect in the space between the iris and cornea, the colored portion of the eye, and the clear translucent portion. We refer to this bleeding as a hyphema.
- Burns and irritation: Irritating substances like chemicals, fumes, and other irritants can burn or harm the eyes, impairing vision.
- Corneal abrasion: The cornea can be scratched by foreign objects, fingernails, contact lenses, and other objects. The cornea is the part of the front of the eye that is transparent and clear. Corneal abrasions induce discomfort, light sensitivity, and eye-watering.
- Foreign object causing an injury: When something becomes stuck in the eye, it can cause pain and vision issues. The most typical foreign particles in the eye are pieces of glass, dirt, or other debris. When contact lenses are worn for an extended period of time, eye damage can occur.
- Orbital (eye socket) fractures: can result from trauma or blunt force to the bones that surround the eye. An orbital fracture frequently results when an item or fist strikes the eye. Bones inside the eye socket break in an orbital blowout fracture. It is possible for the muscles that support the eyes to stretch, tear, or get tangled. This is especially dangerous for kids.
- Retinal detachment: A detached retina may result in irreversible vision loss. Age-related changes or eye damage are the usual causes. It takes place when the retina, a thin tissue covering the back of the eye, begins to move away from the eye wall.
What signs indicate an eye injury?
The type of injury affects the symptoms differently. They could start out slowly and then develop over time.
Eye damage warning signs include:
- Your eye may pain and bulge, particularly when you try to open, close, or move it. The eye could be touch-sensitive. The eyeball, eyelid, or entire face may swell.
- Any area of the eye may show signs of redness or bruising.
- Vision alterations: You can notice flashes of light or floaters (floaters and flashes). You might also experience double vision, hazy vision, and other vision issues in addition to eye floaters.
- Eye movement issues: You could find it difficult to move your eyes. The movements of one eye can be independent of the other.
- Eye changes: A strabismus, or crossed eye, may occur. It is possible that the pupils vary in size or are particularly big or small. One eye may stand out farther from the socket than the other or appear sunken.
- Bleeding: You might notice tiny red or black spots in your eye, or the white part of your eye may appear bright red. A red eye may indicate an eye injury or a few other medical issues.
What damages the eyes?
The eyeball or the tissues and bones around the eye are damaged in many eye injuries.
Eye damage is occurred when using drills, saws, or when mowing or edging the lawn. Among the other typical reasons for eye injury are:
- Sports: Baseballs, tennis balls, and volleyballs can all cause injuries. Eye injuries can also occur in contact sports (for example, if you get elbowed in the face while playing basketball).
- Accidents: A variety of incidents, including trauma from sharp objects, blunt force, and falls, can cause eye damage. Eye injuries are frequently caused by automobile accidents, either through shattered glass or impact during a crash. Grease splatters when cooking or chemical exposure while cleaning the house can also cause eye injury.
- Workplace hazards: Eye injuries are more likely to occur at work for people who work with chemicals, lasers, and other irritants.
- Strain: An eye can bleed if you exert yourself excessively while coughing, throwing up, or lifting a large object.
How to Avoid Eye Injury at Home:
Eye injuries happen more frequently than most people realise; more than 1,25,000 major eye injuries have been caused by household items. According to some, accidents involving chemicals splashing into the eyes might result in injuries. Dusting difficult-to-reach regions increases the chance that dust particles will enter the eye. Due to potentially approaching fast-moving objects while working in the garden, the eye is also put at danger. Additionally, he adds that toddlers and older persons should receive extra consideration because they are more likely to fall and experience injuries to the face and eyes.
By using the following advice, you may help safeguard your eyes from harm at home:
- Ensure that none of the furniture’s or your home’s fittings’ edges are sharp.
- To make stairs safer, provide lighting and railings.
- Wine and carbonated beverage bottles should be opened with caution.
- When working with potentially harmful chemicals and detergents, wear chemical-safety eyewear. Never combine cleaning products.
- Before spraying, turn the nozzles away from your face.
- After using home chemicals, wash your hands.
- On any power equipment, use guards.
- When using a lawnmower or weed eater, wear safety goggles since debris may fly into the air.
Keeping Your Eyes Safe Outside and While Playing
Nearly 40,000 patients who sustain eye injuries from sports are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year. According to some, sports-related blunt force injuries to the eye we see in the clinic are frequently from football or racquetball. You run the danger of injury in any sport when an approaching rapid item is present.
To help you protect your eyes, remember to:
- When you are outside, put on sunglasses to help shield your eyes from UVA and UVB rays. Even on foggy days, wear them.
- Even during an eclipse, avoid looking straight at the sun.
- Before using any equipment or playing any games, read the instructions carefully.
- When engaging in sports or leisure activities, put on protective goggles or glasses.
- When playing high-impact sports, wear a helmet with a polycarbonate face shield or wire shield.
- When utilizing a device that fires paintballs, arrows, pellets, or other projectiles, use protective goggles.
- When handling fireworks, put on safety eyewear.
Providing Eye Injury First Aid
The sort of injury will mostly determine how to treat it.
In the event of an eye injury, apply a cool compress without applying pressure to the eye. In addition, you can take painkillers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Call a doctor if your eye hurts when you move it, if there is blood or bruises, or if your vision has changed.
Laceration or scratch: Keep your eye closed, refrain from attempting to remove anything from it, use sunglasses if necessary to lessen light sensitivity, and have someone drive you to the nearest emergency room for a checkup.
When to Seek Medical Attention:
If you notice any indications that you may have an eye condition, such as:
- Bluish Swelling
- Too many tears
- heavy, achy, or worn-out eyelids
- Eye discomfort
- Focusing issues.
- Spasms of the eye or eyelid’s muscles
- chronic headaches