Looking Out for Yourself on Father's Day
According to the only rarely fallible Wikipedia, "Father's Day is a day of honouring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United States, Father's Day was founded by Sonora Smart Dodd, and celebrated on the third Sunday of June for the first time in 1910." This date has been adopted by Canada, though different countries and regions maintain their own traditions of honouring fatherhood.
Often, Father’s day has come to signal "traditionally male" activities spent either alone or with the family such as ball games, barbecuing, gardening, renovations, or other DIY projects. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, these activities can offer many opportunities for eye injury if some easily taken precautions are ignored.
Protection
Injuries to one or both eyes can obviously impact your ability to see – either temporarily or with total blindness – but are almost always preventable with some simple precautionary safeguards.
It's certainly true that eye injuries can happen in work settings involving "obvious" hazards, but statistically almost as many happen around the home. A celebratory Champagne cork or an unexpectedly ricocheting Nerf dart is all it takes.
The human eye can "reflex blink" in about 1/10th of a second, which sounds really fast, but if we consider that the eyelid moves a little more than a centimetre down, then the same distance back up again - the speed is around 20cm/sec - which is only about a half a mile per hour… much slower than an unexpected Nerf dart or other flying object.
Fortunately, most eye injuries can be prevented with some straightforward precautions. By taking a few simple steps you can drastically reduce the risk of an eye injury.
Avoiding an eye injury
These straightforward tips can help prevent eye injuries around the home on Father's Day… or any other day of the year.
During DIY
Renovating or repairing things is a popular Father's Day activity – either alone in search of some solitude or as a group activity with the kids
Wear protective eyewear during risky activities. Wear well fitting safety glasses with side shields anytime you might be exposed to flying particles, objects, or even dust. Screws, nails, and hand tools can become projectiles, and power tools can propel tiny chips into the air and into eyes.
Turn off power tools when an unprotected bystander is near, especially young children.
Wear goggles when exposed to chemicals. Take precautions even if you're just a bystander. Splashes travel faster and further than you might expect – especially on windy days.
Supervise your child's use of tools. Pencils, scissors, and even cutlery such as knives and forks can all be the source of serious eye injury. No need to be paranoid but remember that common household items as innocuous as wire coat hangers, paper clips, bungee cords, or rubber bands can also be dangerous.
In the garden
Wear eye protection. Use protective eyewear every time you operate gardening equipment or tools. Proper safety eyewear can protect against many risks, including flying dust and debris, and chemical splashes. Remember, regular corrective lenses or sunglasses aren't sufficient; use CSA-certified safety glasses that fit over your normal eyewear or see your optometrist for prescription options.
Keep children away from flying debris. Make sure young children stay out of the yard while a lawnmower is being operated.
Store hazardous substances out of reach. Keep fertilizers, pesticides, and pool chemicals away from children at all times.
Always read and follow the instructions and/or owner’s manual for safe handling of products (e.g., fertilizers, solvents) and equipment. Keep tools in good condition.
Inspect and remove debris from the lawn before mowing. Inspect walkways and stairs to remove hazards there too. Trim all low hanging branches.
Wash hands after completing tasks and chores, and before touching your eyes. And rinse away any debris stuck to your face to prevent it making its way into your eyes.
Cooking and cleaning
Use caution with chemicals and cleaners. Always read and follow manufactures’ instructions and warning labels when handling chemicals at home, and wash hands thoroughly afterward. Do not mix cleaning agents. Keep all chemicals and sprays out of a child's reach.
Be careful when cooking or using hot objects. Use grease shields to prevent the splattering of hot grease or oil.
Keep sharp kitchen tools and utensils away from small children. Store them in child-proof locations and avoid setting them down within reach of young children.
Always point spray nozzles away from you and anyone else.
Toys and Children
Read all warnings and instructions on toys.
Avoid toys with sharp or rigid points, shafts, spikes, rods, and dangerous edges.
Avoid flying toys and projectile-firing toys such as darts, bows and arrows, and missile-firing toys. If these toys are being used safety glasses should be worn by users and bystanders.
Be aware of items in playgrounds and play areas that pose potential eye hazards.
Don't allow your child to play with non-powder rifles, such as pellet guns or BB guns.
Don't allow your children to use laser pointers. Laser pointers, especially those with short wave lengths such as green laser pointers, can permanently damage the retina and cause visual loss in as short as a few seconds. Great care should be taken to keep the laser away from anyone’s eyes.
Wear protective eyewear during sports. Any sport featuring a ball, puck, stick, bat, racquet or flying object, is a potential risk of eye injury. Your optometrist will be able to recommend safety glasses suitable to be worn while playing sports and can provide prescription options.
Celebrating
Forgo backyard fireworks. Leave fireworks to trained professionals.
Use caution when opening corked sparkling drinks. Don't shake the bottle. Point the bottle at a 45-degree angle away from yourself and any bystanders. Cover the bottle with a towel and slowly twist the cork to remove it.
What are the signs and symptoms of an eye injury?
Eye injuries can sometimes be hard to identify, especially in children. Seek medical care immediately if you notice any of these signs or symptoms:
Obvious pain, trouble opening the eye or trouble seeing.
A cut or torn eyelid
One eye not moving as well as the other.
One eye sticking out farther or seeming more prominent than the other.
An unusual pupil size or shape
Blood in the white part of the eye
An object on the eye or under the eyelid that can't easily be removed.
What can you do if an eye injury occurs?
When an eye injury occurs, seek medical help from your optometrist or another doctor as soon as possible — even if the injury seems minor. Delaying care could lead to permanent vision loss or blindness.
In the event of an injury, follow these steps to prevent further damage:
Don't touch, rub or apply pressure to the eye.
Don't try to remove an object that appears stuck on the surface of the eye or an object that appears to have penetrated the eye.
Don't apply ointment or medication to the eye.
Flush out any chemicals the eye has been exposed to with plenty of clean water.
Prevention is the best way to avoid an eye injury. Your optometrist can recommend quality safety glasses, including prescription options, and will be able to provide safety glasses that meet specific workplace or recreational requirements. And if an eye injury does occur, do not hesitate to contact your optometrist.
