Did you know that August is
Children’s Eye Health and Safety month? According to the American Academy of
Pediatrics, “nine out of ten eye injuries are preventable, and almost half
occur around the home.” Here are some safety guidelines from AAP to help
prevent eye injuries:
• Make sure that any chemicals, such as detergents and cleaning fluids, are kept out of reach of children.
• Take a look at your children’s toys and watch out for sharp parts, especially for very young children.
• Teach your children how to hold scissors and pencils properly when they are young. That way as they get older, they will maintain these good habits.
• Looking directly into the sun can cause severe eye damage. And make sure that they never look directly at an eclipse of the sun.
• If you are working around the house with tools, either your child should not be in the area, or she should wear safety goggles.
• Keep your child away from power lawn mowers. These can launch rocks or other objects, making them dangerous projectiles.
• If your child is playing sports, make sure she is wearing eye protection that is appropriate for the sport.
• Children should be kept far away if you are lighting fires. And your child should NEVER be near fireworks of any kind.
• Make sure that any chemicals, such as detergents and cleaning fluids, are kept out of reach of children.
• Take a look at your children’s toys and watch out for sharp parts, especially for very young children.
• Teach your children how to hold scissors and pencils properly when they are young. That way as they get older, they will maintain these good habits.
• Looking directly into the sun can cause severe eye damage. And make sure that they never look directly at an eclipse of the sun.
• If you are working around the house with tools, either your child should not be in the area, or she should wear safety goggles.
• Keep your child away from power lawn mowers. These can launch rocks or other objects, making them dangerous projectiles.
• If your child is playing sports, make sure she is wearing eye protection that is appropriate for the sport.
• Children should be kept far away if you are lighting fires. And your child should NEVER be near fireworks of any kind.
Typically if dust or other small
particles get in the eye, tears will actually clean the eye and wash them out.
However, if a more serious eye injury occurs, make sure you call your
pediatrician or go to the emergency room right away. For more information, you
can read our previous post about healthy
eye care for your baby and child.
If you have questions, feel free to
email us at AskUs@marchofdimes.org.
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to read more News Moms Need blog posts on: pregnancy, pre-pregnancy, infant and
child care, help for your child with delays or disabilities, and other hot
topics.
Tags: eye safety, eyes,
preventing injuries
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