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Eye injuries occur at the rate of 1,000 a day in the American
workplace. Every year in the United States alone, almost 100,000 people permanently
lose the sight in one or both of their eyes from accidents at work. Every day,
thousands of others risk needless blindness at home and play. The real tragedy is
that most eye accidents are preventable. An estimated nine out of every ten eye
injuries need never happen if proper precautions are taken.
Being aware of the dangers and using eye protection combined with good common sense can
prevent the tragedy of needless blindness for yourself and those you care about.
Work | Home | Personal Grooming |
Play | Children
Hobbyists | Sports
| What to do |
Quick First Aid
 AT WORK
Most eye accidents at work are caused by carelessness, the use of worn or inappropriate
tools or the failure to use appropriate protective devices and follow safety precautions.
Three of every five workers suffering eye injuries were not wearing appropriate eye
protection at the time of the accident.
Hazards in the work place include:
- flying chips and broken tool fragments
- particles spun off during grinding
- splashing grease, oil, chemicals and hot steam
- sparks in welding
- dirt and dust particles that cause damage or infection
Ordinary glasses are not sufficient protection. Industrial safety glasses of plastic or
shatterproof glass must meet standards of the American National Standards Institute. Handy
"fit-over" masks and face shields worn over glasses also protect the eyes.
Work in good light and keep your work area clean. Make sure safety screens, baffles and
machinery guards are in place to keep your work area safe for yourself and others.
 At Home
Visors, goggles or safety glasses are excellent protection during home clean-up and
fix-up. Sudden drafts can blow the mist from. aerosol cleaners or sprays into the eyes and
empty spray cans can explode. Cleaning chemicals are often the cause of eye injuries
around the house. Be careful when opening and working with polishes, detergents, bleaches,
ammonia and cleaners for ovens and drains.
Take special care working outside. Every year more than 5,000 eye injuries happen in
the yard and garden. Mowers, cutters and clippers can propel pebbles, twigs and lawn
debris with tremendous force. Chips and splinters from pruning or clipping are especially
hazardous and twigs and branches can snap back quickly into the face. Children should not
play nearby during lawn work to protect them from objects propelled by mowers and
trimmers; and goggles or safety glasses should be worn by anyone in the vicinity.
Think of the battery in a car as a live bomb. It's flammable and explosive and the
dangers to your sight come not only from sudden sprays of corrosive battery acids but from
flying fragments of battery casing. Wear eye protection, keep flames and cigarettes away
from batteries and don't lean over the battery during a jump start. Read the owner's
manual for the car. It will tell you exactly how to jump-start a dead battery safely.
 Personal Grooming
Cosmetics, hair sprays, nail polishes and other grooming aids for men and women can
cause eye inflammations, infections and even burns. Be careful around the eyes when using
face creams, sunning lotions and skin medications. Hands should be washed and kept away
from the eyes after each use. Make sure the valve is pointed in the right direction and
close your eyes when using hair sprays. And be careful not to scratch or touch the surface
of the eye when applying or removing cosmetics.
- Use eye cosmetics from reliable manufacturers and keep them. clean and fresh to prevent
the growth of bacteria. Don't use old cosmetics or store them at temperatures higher than
85°F.
- Wash your hands beforehand and make sure applicators, eye liner brushes and eyelash
curlers are clean. Wipe containers to remove dust and dirt.
- Use clean water to wet and thin eye cosmetics. Saliva can cause bacteria to grow in the
cosmetic. Don't share eye makeup.
- Stop using any cosmetic or grooming aid if it causes inflammation, irritation or
discoloration. See your eye doctor if necessary.
 Children
Toys and play are among the most common causes of loss of sight among children. An
estimated 17% of all eye injuries to children are caused by missile-type toys or toys with
hard edges and detachable parts. There are special dangers to youngsters during the
excitement of the December holidays with new toys and Fourth of July celebrations with
their fireworks and firecrackers.
Youngsters are especially vulnerable when wrestling, "dueling" or throwing
things at each other. Slingshots, BB guns and other gas-, air- or spring-operated guns,
lawn darts and toy weapons are responsible for many damaged young eyes. Even Frisbees can
hurt when tossed forcefully enough.
Children in their sometimes clumsy enthusiasm are especially vulnerable to dog bites
and cat scratches that can cause serious damage to the eyes and eyelids.
Baseball-related accidents account for more injuries among children 5-14 than any other
sport. Batters should wear helmets with face protectors. The eye and head protection will
also reduce the tendency to be ball-shy.
Guard your children's eyesight:
- Be aware of how they play with toys.
- Keep inappropriate toys away from children too young or too inexperienced to use them
properly.
- Make sure toys will not shatter with rough handling or under violent impact.
- Read manufacturers' instructions for using toys properly.
What to do
Foreign Bodies
Dust, sand, ashes, dirt, sawdust and most foreign bodies are washed out naturally by
blinking and tearing. Keep the hands away from the eyes to avoid rubbing them and blink
continuously. It may help to splash or flush the eye with clean water but rolling the eyes
while blinking or pulling the upper eyelid out and down over the lower eyelid often does
the trick. If the eye suddenly feels teary, irritated or sensitive to light without any
apparent cause, an object might be lodged in the cornea. Objects lodged in the cornea need
to be removed by a specialist.
Blows
A blow hard enough to cause a "black eye" or "shiner," (a hemorrhage
under the skin of the eye area) may in some cases cause more serious damage to the eye
itself. If the vision is blurred or there is double vision, see a doctor. Cold compresses
for 15 minutes every hour for the first day will reduce swelling and minimize
discoloration. The "black eye" will disappear in a week or so.
Chemical Burns
Paints, sprays, solvents, detergents, cleaners, polishes, bleaches, plant and insect
sprays, glues and adhesives cause chemical bums. Flood the eye and continue to flood the
eye for 15 minutes in running water from a faucet, hose or water fountain. Any clean
container, even a teakettle, can be used to pour water continuously into the eye to wash
away the harmful chemical.
If nothing else is available, cup clean liquid in your hand and splash the eye
continually.
Gently pat the closed eye with a towel and do not rub the eye when drying your face.
The eye should be allowed to tear to wash out any chemical remainders. Do not use any
salves or medications and call a doctor immediately. Take the container or the chemical to
the doctor to help determine the appropriate treatment.
Cuts and Punctures
Cuts and punctures should be bandaged very lightly — avoiding pressure — with a
sterile gauze or other clean patch. Call a doctor immediately. Do not try to clean or wash
eyes with cuts, punctures, abrasions or serious wounds; blood is a natural antiseptic.
Appearance is not important and you can cause more damage. Stay calm and try to keep the
patient calm. The less walking, the better. Try to limit the use of the uninjured eye. One
eye can move the other eye and more damage can result.
At Play
Barbecues, picnics and camping are fun but take special care around outdoor grills and
campf ires. Watch out for windblown ashes, flying wood chips and especially in damp
weather, exploding matchheads. Be careful with fire starters that can flare suddenly and
with insect sprays. A carelessly aimedaerosol or a sudden shift in the wind can blow
stinging chemicals into the eyes.
 Hobbyists and Do-It-Yourselfers
Power tools for work or pleasure should never be used without eye protection. Even hand
tools may break in use and any possibility of flying particles should demand appropriate
precautions. High speed electric tools such as drills and sanders, polishers, soldering
irons, sprayers, hammers and chisels make the home workshop a hazardous area even for the
highly skilled. Some 35,000 eye injuries happen there every year. Paints, solvents and
thinners in common use, dyes and inks, and glues and adhesives all contain chemicals
harmful to the eyes. Even fumes from some of these can cause damage. Watch out too for
plaster dust, sawdust, nails, screws, splashing solder, sparks, acids and alkalis.
 Sports
Team sports such as baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer
and hockey account for the majority of the 34,000 sports eye injuries a
year. But racket sports such as tennis, badminton, racquetball and squash as
well as handball also take their toll. The danger comes not only from
hard-hit balls but the possibility of being struck by the racket. Bicycling
and archery are also on the sports caution list.
Conventional glasses are not good eye protection because they shatter when hit
forcefully enough. Open-lens eye guards are not effective protection for court sports.
Balls can reach average speeds of 80 mph in amateur play and 130 mph in professional play.
Wear special sports eyewear with prescription lenses of polycarbonate or CR-39.
Non-prescription eye protection should be of polycarbonate plastic and coated for scratch
resistance.
(Post in a handy place)QUICK First Aid for Eye Injuries
Foreign Bodies
Blink or pull upper eyelid gently out and down over the bottom eyelid allowing tears to
wash particle out. Or splash out with water.
Blows to the Eye
Apply cold compresses for 15 minutes every hour to reduce swelling and discoloration.
Chemical Burn
Act quickly. Remove contact lenses. Hold eye open wide and flood eye with water from
faucet or container for 15 minutes to wash chemical out.
Cuts or Punctures to Eye or Eyelid
Bandage lightly. See doctor at once. Do not remove an impaled object.
NOTE: Always seek medical help if there are any signs of impaired
vision, pain or visible damage to the eye or the area around the eye.
Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness
The Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness was founded in 1916 to prevent the
tragedy of needless blindness. Dedicated to the care, protection and preservation of
sight, ISPB programs stress education and information.
Eye Spy is an ISPB eye safety school program for fourth graders and has impressed
thousands of youngsters with the importance of eye care and protection since the program's
inception in 1981.
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Eye Care