Five Common Eye Injuries and How to Prevent Them

It is crucial to protect your eyes from harm. Here are some ways how.

Remember the feeling of having an eyelash or a piece of lint on your eye? It’s not an experience any of us miss when it isn’t happening. The discomfort we feel is due to the fact that our eyes are one of our most sensitive organs. On one hand, this helps us protect our eyes by making us hyper-aware of their current state. On the other hand, this makes our eyes prone to various injuries.

Here are five common injuries and ways to prevent them from happening.

Eye Trauma
Getting hit in the eye with even a small degree of force can cause trauma to both the eye and the surrounding area. Common causes of eye trauma include sport balls, random objects, and rough contact with another person’s body, namely their hands and elbows. As you can imagine, most instances of eye trauma are accidental, so preventing it from happening simply boils down to situational awareness. For example, whenever you are in a setting where physical activity is taking place, steer clear of active people and airborne objects.

Corneal Abrasion
Your cornea is a clear layer around your eyeball that allows light to enter. Corneal abrasion occurs when the cornea is scratched by a foreign object like dirt, dust, eyelashes, and fingers. Depending on the severity of the scratch, a corneal abrasion can result in issues like infection and even permanent vision damage. To prevent corneal abrasions, resist the urge to touch your eyes; this will reduce the likelihood of transferring a potentially harmful foreign object to your eye. Additionally, try to steer clear of environments with foreign substances that might find their way into your eyes.

Chemical Burn
Substances that have certain properties can cause significant harm to your eyes. You don’t have to be a scientist working in a lab to suffer from a chemical burn. Everyday products like soap, shampoo, cooking oil, and bleach are prime candidates for accidentally burning our eyes. Whenever you’re handling these products, keep your hands as far away from your face as possible to prevent splashing chemicals into your eyes. For some activities, you might want to wear goggles or a face shield for maximum protection.

Foreign Object
Our eyes don’t like to share their sockets with other objects. Anything that doesn’t belong in your eye is considered foreign, even other parts of your body. Whereas some objects are less harmful, some are sharp enough to actually penetrate your eye, which can cause irreversible damage. Wearing protective eyewear is highly recommended whenever you’re exposed to airborne particles. If none is available to you, then shut your eyes and shield them with your palms to the best of your ability while you remove yourself from the situation.

Eye Bleeding
Eye bleeding occurs when one of the blood vessels in your eye breaks, causing blood to escape. Normally, this blood will remain trapped within your eye rather than leak out like tears, but it will be visible in the form of red blotches across the surface of your eye. Fortunately, eye bleeding doesn’t hurt, and the blood vessel repairs itself within a few weeks. Since eye bleeding can happen as a result of other eye injuries, you should follow the same precautions as those – don’t touch your eyes, wear protective eyewear when necessary, and avoid potential sources of harm.

If you experience any type of eye injury, then you should waste no time in seeking medical care. Our ophthalmologists at Sterling Vision are highly skilled at identifying and treating a variety of eye injuries. To schedule an appointment with us, call 541-262-0597 or schedule online.