Forth July and Eye Safety
The Fourth of July is almost approaching, so many people are gatherings with family, dinner parties, and the most important thing of all, the fireworks.
While fireworks can be exciting and beautiful, they can also be quite dangerous. 10,000 fireworks-related injuries are really reported each year, with eye injuries making up more than 15% of those incidents.
The first step in reducing injuries is realizing how often fireworks-related injuries are, particularly eye injuries. Please remember these details if you use fireworks1.
- One in five fireworks injuries result in eye trauma of some kind.
- In one out of three cases, fireworks-related eye injuries result in blindness
- Burns to the eye’s surface are the most frequent fireworks-related eye damage.
- Only 10% of patients who were hospitalized for fireworks-related injuries reported using safety glasses.
- The risk of fireworks-related injuries is roughly two times higher for children and teenagers aged 10 to 19.
How to protect you and your loved ones1?
- Watch the fireworks from at least 500 feet away, behind safety barriers
- Glow sticks and other luminescent toys make safe fireworks alternatives for kids.
- If you experience an eye injury from fireworks, seek medical assistance immediately.
- Avoid scrubbing, rinsing, or applying pressure to the eyes, do not remove any objects from the eye, do use ointments, or take any painkillers.
Please keep in mind that in addition to ruining enjoyable moments, unforeseen accidents can drastically alter your life. Be careful out there! From A Matter of Sight family to yours, happy Fourth of July!
- https://www.2020mag.com/article/have-an-eye-safe-july-fourth