St. Louis Eye Doctors Offer Tips for Avoiding Eye Accidents at Home

October 1st traditionally marks the kickoff of National Eye Injury Prevention Month. In previous blog posts our St. Louis eye doctors have briefly talked about preventing sports injuries and swimmers’ eye problems. So this week, we decided to expand the discussion and talk about preventing eye injuries from occurring at home. There are many different items both inside and outside of one’s residence that can cause mild to severe eye injuries. Today, we wanted to focus on a few dangers that lurk inside of the home.

 

 Preventing Eye Injuries in the Kitchen

One area that is rife with potential hazards is the kitchen. Understandably, all of the sharp objects located inside of a kitchen may cause eye injuries. However, they are not the only dangers. Injuries may also be caused by household cleaning projects and hot ingredients.

Cooking grease is a prime example. It can splash up during the cooking process and enter someone’s eye. Once it does, a severe burn may occur. Therefore, in such instances, it is typically best to immediately wash the area with cool tap water and seek medical attention. The same can be said for many accidents that involve exposure to household chemicals.

On a positive note, there are items that may reduce one’s chances of experiencing eye injuries in the kitchen. These include grease guards and safety goggles. Grease guards are nothing more than large, stainless steel screens outfitted with a handle. They are designed to be placed over top of a frying pan and will help to keep the hot grease from reaching a person’s eyes.

The safety goggles, on the other hand, are ideal for use with household cleaning projects. They may also be used to complete home improvement, lawn and garden projects. In those instances, they may protect a person’s eyes from flying lawn debris, sawdust and other items that could cause damage.

Preventing Eye Injuries in the Bathroom

According to our St. Louis eye doctors, the bathroom is another area where eye injuries may take place. Oftentimes, eye injuries that occur in the bathroom are a result of the eye being exposed to personal care items like shampoos, hair spray and aftershave. When those injuries occur, they eyes should be flushed with water and examined. If the damage is severe, medical attention should be sought.

To prevent such injuries from occurring in children, our St. Louis eye doctors suggest that you consider purchasing baby shampoo visors and mild shampoos. The visors are designed to keep shampoo and water away from a child’s eyes during grooming. The mild shampoos are traditionally made with natural ingredients. As such, they typically won’t cause as much eye irritation as manmade ones. Adults may want to consider using the milder products for their grooming needs as well.

Of course those are just a few ways to protect one's eyes at home. To learn more, contact our St. Louis eye doctors at (314) 367-1848.

Last modified on Time: Tuesday, 05 June 2018 00:51
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