THE “EYES” HAVE IT…
Prevent Blindness America has declared September as Home Eye Safety Awareness Month in an effort to remind everyone of the hazards in their own homes that could damage the precious gift of sight.
“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,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. “But all it takes is one split-second accident that could damage your vision for a lifetime.”
Prevent Blindness America (PBA) strongly supports the AAO and the American Society of Ocular Trauma (ASOT) in their recommendation that every household 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 can be purchased inexpensively at hardware stores and home building centers.
Safety Tips
Almost 40% of home eye injuries occur in the garage, yard, or garden. Debris lawn equipment can unexpectedly enter the eye at a high rate of speed.
We offer these tips on how to protect your eyes while working at home:
- When mowing, wear safety glasses with side protection or goggles. Check your yard and remove debris before mowing.
- When using a weed eater, wear safety glasses or goggles.
- Wear goggles when working with power saws, trimmers, drills or grinding equipment.
- Turn off power tools when near an unprotected bystander, especially when young children approach.
- Make sure all bystanders and helpers wear eye protection when around tools that are in use.
- Wear goggles to protect your eyes from fertilizers, pesticides and other yard chemicals.
- Read and follow all liquid or airborne product instructions.
- And always obey the safety warnings on garage and yard equipment.
- Eye protection should be worn when using household chemicals. Bleach and other household cleaners cause 125,000 eye injuries every year. When done, always wash hands thoroughly before touching the eyes or face.
For more information on how to protect your eyes at home and eye protection recommendations, visit http://www.preventblindness.org.