Posted by: Eye Specialists of Mid Florida in Blog
By Tincy Thomas, OD, Board Certified Optometric Physician
As the new school year begins, children will be participating in sports, hobbies, and school projects. It is important to ensure that their eyes are protected during these activities to prevent any damage to their developing eyes.
There are many ways we can prevent eye injuries in children. While playing sports, especially football, basketball, soccer, baseball, hockey, and tennis, children should wear sports glasses made with a protective lens type called polycarbonate. This lens material should even be used for children when children are playing outdoors and with their general day-to-day activities. These lenses are much more impact resistant than plastic lenses. Extra caution must also be used with commonly used household items such as scissors, glue, pencils, hangers, and rubber bands.
Some items should be kept away from children to avoid any injuries. Chemicals such as bleach, laundry detergent, and cleaning supplies should be kept out of reach. Be sure to only allow age-appropriate toys for your children and take extra caution when playing with projectile toys. Moreover, children should not be near fireworks. If proper eye protection and safety is not exercised, some of the injuries that can result are corneal abrasions, corneal ulcers, chemical burns, orbital bone fractures, and retinal detachments. If your child’s eye is injured, take them to see an ophthalmologist or optometrist immediately. Delaying medical attention could result in permanent vision loss.
Children can have fun while being safe with appropriate eye protection. At Eye Specialists of Mid-Florida, we strive to keep our children safe.
