Are you aware that annual statistics show that sports-related eye injuries account for 40,000 trips to the hospital? That’s one injury every 13 minutes! Eye Care professionals report that most of the injuries would have been easily prevented by wearing protective eyewear. More often than not eye damaging accidents take place when playing recreational activities or doing work around the house. Kids are especially vulnerable to accidents involving eye damage, which often happen during active play.So the remedy is safety glasses and they don’t have to be some dreaded ugly glasses that make your child look like they are from another planet. Safety glasses come in school colors, all clear, can also include fashion sun wear with the correct protective lens material and tint. Don’t forget the age old accessory the sport band that keeps the glasses attached and in place in contact sports. A popular brand of sport elastic band is Croakies offering the original band to color cords and floating cord options. Every household should have plano safety goggles available if outdoor work is done to protect the eyes from projectiles that can result from activities that may seem benign such as simple grass clipping to the more dangerous weed whacking. This summer don’t forget the swim goggles either and if you have a swimmer in the family swim goggles can be made in prescription too.

Being strong about ensuring your kids use protective glasses during contact sports will protect them from potential eye damage. A good idea is to lead by example by purchasing a pair of new wraparound safety glasses for yourself that you use when involved in contact sports or working with power tools. Insist your children follow your example. In addition, let your kids select safety glasses in the style they prefer. Safety also involves consideration of sun protection when outdoors to prevent not only damaging UV rays from harming the eyes and creating eye sun burns but also enhances performance by promoting a higher degrees of clarity and less hesitation that is produced with glare.

To ensure you choose a pair with the right fit and the proper amount of safety, ask an experienced eye care professional for recommendations. Our professionals can help you in purchasing the right pair of glasses for your child, based on your child’s particular needs. If your child has glasses, safety glasses can be customized with prescription lenses from your eye care center. Trivex or polylcarbonate lenses are recommended for a child that plays contact sports such as football. They are not only more shatter-proof, they are also lighter than plastic lenses, offering greater comfort.

Don’t skimp when purchasing safety eyewear. It’s a simple step to guard your child’s eyes!

There are quite a few ways to injure the eyes. They are such a delicate part of the body that even something seemingly minor can end up causing a lot of trouble. Then, there are some activities that beg for trouble if the proper precautions aren’t taken. Like AirSoft.

AirSoft is like paintball in the sense that enthusiasts play games of tag with realistic guns, however, the ammo is plastic pellets not unlike BBs. The AirSoft guns are relatively inexpensive for basic models so it wasn’t too long for a dedicated following to emerge. Without proper precautions, AirSoft can be a dangerous game of how fast can you shoot an eye out. That means that people concerned about eye care sprout new grey hairs.

Just like a Dentist would caution against eating candy and brushing your teeth after each sweet treat, Optometrists and Ophthalmologist will caution against playing this sport/hobby all together. If you do, make sure to get all the proper equipment that will have the greatest chance of keeping your eyes safe and healthy. Anything that seems to cut corners like Mesh Masks can still get debris through to the eyes and put your vision at risk.

Thanks to Dr. Ryo’s Blog for the idea on covering AirSoft

The FDA recently issued a warning on Chelation products that are being marketed as dietary supplements. Chelation is the process of removing heavy metals from the body. The claim is that it can cure diseases such as Alzheimers, Autism, Parkinson’s, Macular Degeneration and others using nasal sprays, clay baths, IVs, suppositories, capsules or  liquid drops. They are sold as a dietary supplement to get around any sort of FDA regulations, which is why only a warning is issued. As you may have guessed, we get concerned when a warning goes out that involves the eyes.

The danger here is that chelation is FDA approved when used someone comes into contact with dangerous levels of copper, lead and arsenic – the heavy metals – and administered by a doctor. This leads to mass confusion and misleading claims. Chelation used for purpose or “cures” other than to remove heavy metal could be dangerous and deadly.

There has only been one death reported of an Autistic boy dying after receiving an intravenous Chelation therapy. Other than that, there haven’t been any problems reported making this warning more preventative. It should be stated that Chelation therapy is not scientifically proven to cure any Macular Degeneration or other diseases mentioned above. Evidence points to that Chelation doesn’t improve any chronic conditions like the ones listed.

Here is the list of products that got a letter from the FDA-

World Health Products LLC: Detoxamin Oral, Detoxamin Suppositories, and the Metal Detector test kit

Hormonal Health LLC: Kelatox Suppositories

Evenbetternow LLC: Kids Chelat Heavy Metal Chelator, Bio-Chelat Heavy Metal Chelator, Behavior Balance DMG Liquid, AlkaLife Alkaline Drops, NutriBiotic Grapefruit Seed Extract, Natur-Leaf, Kids Clear Detoxifying Clay Baths, EBN Detoxifying Bentonite Clay, and the Heavy Metal Screen Test

Source: ABC News

Injuries to the eye are no laughing matter, they can  be annoying at best and all the way to very painful. It’s always good to protect the eyes with safety glasses or other approved safety device. Many people think that construction workers or other type of profession that works a lot with tools are primarily at risk for eye injury. Not the case. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the American Society of Ocular Trauma (ASOT) over 1.5 million eye injuries happen every year in the home. That is half of all eye injuries.

Of the most dangerous places, the lawn and garden rank number one. The reason is from lawnmowers tossing debris into the air. Those rocks, clippings or twigs can lodge themselves in the eye and cause serious damage. Household products like cleaning supplies, makeup, dinner utensils, scissors and hair brushes are another big source of eye injury. Kids now are about 20 percent of the total eye injury total, so it is more important than ever to teach children about not running in the house with potentially dangerous objects and play away from someone mowing the lawn.

It’s a common misconception that safety glasses have to be “nerdy” or “dorky.” There are plenty of options available now that look fashionable and offer the same type of protection needed to keep eyes healthy. So those glasses you wore in 7th grade chemistry-

Can now look more like this-

A whopping 90 percent of the nearly 3 million yearly injuries could have been prevented. By being a little more careful and wearing the proper safety glasses, the statistics for eye injury will plummet. If you have any questions about safety glasses, get in touch with an eye care expert.

Learn more about eye safety at All About Vision.