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Eye injuries happen about 2,000 times per day in the United States, with half of them occurring in the workplace, according to the Federal Occupational Health section of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). About 70% of injuries to the eye are due to falling or flying objects or sparks. The most common of these eye injuries, according to the information site All About Vision, involve: • Scratches • Penetration • Chemical burns • Swelling after an impact • Bleeding from broken blood vessels, which is quite common but looks alarming • Traumatic iritis, an inflammation of the iris from a poke or blow • Hyphemas, which is bleeding in the space between the cornea and iris • Orbital blowout, which are fractures, cracks, or breaks in the facial bones around the eye When Should You Treat an Eye Injury? Events like those listed above should be discussed with an ophthalmologist. Many practitioners have emergency and after-hours numbers for this purpose. But if the injury is extreme—such as an eyeball knocked out of a socket or penetration, or steady pain--go to an urgent care center or emergency room immediately. Treating a minor optic injury can be done at home. Use a cold compress for a blow to the eye. Keep a saline flush kit to rinse away foreign particles that get into an eye. If one isn’t handy, any clean water source will do. If the object won’t flush out, put a loose bandage over the eye and obtain medical help. Call a doctor if the person is in pain or if the injury isn’t healing after 48 hours. Also keep in mind that these are head injuries that can cause a concussion. Any headache, dizziness, or unusual behavior should be evaluated as soon as possible for a concussion injury. Medical treatments usually require numbing the area with drops or injections and dilating the pupil to get a clearer look inside. Doctors may prescribe steroid drops to lower inflammation and put a protective shield over the eye. Special instructions may include not blowing the nose along with prescribing taking decongestants and/or antibiotics. Serious cases like lacerations may require surgery. Preventing Optic Injuries Eye protection is essential in many workplaces and, when it must be worn, make sure it is the right kind of protection and that it fits correctly. BLS says about two-thirds of workers who report eye injuries either didn’t wear them or wore the wrong kind of protection. The same reasoning applies to sports. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) urges all athletes, regardless of level and sport, to wear eye protection designed for that sport even if the league doesn’t require this. “Every year, I treat dozens of kids with eye injuries from sports, “ says Rahul N. Khurana, MD, an ophthalmologist who is AAO’s clinical spokesperson. Khurana says safety goggles protect from common events like fingers in the eye and getting “slammed in the face” with a ball. According to an AAO press release, there are 100,000 optic injuries resulting from sports each year. About 42,000 people are treated in emergency rooms, and 13,500 become legally blind.
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