Safety Tips Regarding Home Eye Hazards

For many Americans, the time of spring is defined by projects like home improvements, yard work, and spring cleaning. But, did you know that these kinds of home projects cause most of the eye injuries? Many people believe that most eye injuries take place during a job (such as in a factory or on a construction site),but in reality, half of all the severe eye injuries occur at home. According to a survey by the American Academy of Ophthalmology,despite the large number of eye injuries taking place at home, only 35 percent of the Americans wear protective eyewear when performing different home maintenance or repairs.
Here are some of the hazardous activities at home, which can result in some kind of eyeinjure; Cleaning: Each year, 125,000 eye injuries are caused due to household cleaning products like bleach. Yard Work: Things like thorns, twigs, and branches are dangerous and can cause injuries. Debris and dirt from trimmers, lawnmowers, and shovels can fly into the air, which can get into your eye. Home Improvement: When using things like nails, screws, and hand tools, be extra careful because these can launch into the air and get into your eye. Wood chips and other substances from a power tool can also fly into the air and can cause you an eye injury. According to the fifth-annual Eye Injury Snapshot, which was carried out by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, 40% of eye injuries took place during the proceduresor situations which are mentioned above.
Despite these large numbers of eye injuries occurring at home, only 3 out of 10 people wear eye protection when working on a home project. The good news is that you can reduce the chances of an eye injury by 90 percent!Just by wearing eye protection. The American Academy of Ophthalmology encourages that every household should at least keep one pair of ANSI-approved protective eyewear at hand and should wear it during hazardous activities to minimize the risk of an eye injury. ANSI-approved means that a specific protective eyewear is made in such a way that it meets the safety standards set by the American National Standards Institute.

Places to Be Careful at Home

The following are some of the situations and places in your home where you should be extra careful and protect your eyes.

Inside your House

One should be very careful when using dangerous chemicals like bleach and oven cleanerbecause, as mentioned before, every year, about 125,000 eye injuries are caused by these products. Before using any chemical or cleaning products, read the labels very carefully, and one shouldn’t mix any chemical products if he/she doesn’t know what the outcome of his/her little experiment could be. While cooking foods that can splatter hot oil or grease, one should use grease shields to protect himself/herself from any kind of splatter.You should be cautious when opening a champagne bottle at the time of anycelebration. And while opening a champagne bottle, you should never point it towards yourself or towards another person. To avoid any mishap from taking place while unscrewing the bottle, wrap a cloth or towel around the top of the bottle to catch the cork. While hammering or drilling nails or screws into a wall or any hard surfaces like cement or brick, one should always wear eye protection.When using these instruments, sometimes nails or screws can fly into the air, or sometimesfragments from the hard surface can also fly into the air and get into your eye.Be extremely cautious when using hot surfaces like curling irons near your face, even a small contact from these types of instruments with your eye can cause you some serious injury.Loose railings and rugs are some of the other hazardous things in your house, which can cause you harm. A non-slip pad should be used underneath the rugs to secure them. Make sure that railings are not loose, and they are secured into their place firmly. If you have any elderly and children in your house, you should put paddings on sharp edges and corners.

In Your Yard

When mowing the lawn, you should check the yard or the outdoor area for rocks, sticks, or any other similar item because when these things might come under the mower, they might fly out from under it and injure you in some way. You should always wear protective eyewear when using a power trimmer or edger in your yard because small fragments can sometimes fly into the air and get into your eyes. Clipping of bushes and hedges is one other situation where you should protect your eyes.When you have a yard, it’s sure that it would be used for different kinds of sports. Surely playing sports is a healthy activity, but without any proper protection, it can lead to severe injury. Each year in America, about 30,000 eye injuries are treated which are related to sports.

In Your Workshop or Garage

You shouldn’t use any damaged hand or power tools. To avoid any risk of harm, you should keep all your tools in excellent conditions, and if you have a tool that is damaged, you should either repair it or replace it. When you are working with chemicals or some kind of solvents, you should take precautionary measures, and when spraying any chemical, make sure that the nozzles are not directed towards you. Wearing eye protection is a must when doing chores, which can cause dust particles or fragments to fly off in the air. Be careful when tying down any load or tools with bungee cords; these cords have a tendency to snap back, which makes them a hazardfor the eye.
During all of these activities, keep in mind that people around you also face some type of risk. It’s best that bystanders (who could be your children) should either leave the area where you are performing a particular task or should also wear an eye protection. In case you or your family member face any eye injury, you should immediately seek the help of an ophthalmologist.