Nyack Hospital: Watch Out for Your Eyes

With almost half of all eye injuries occurring in the home, Nyack Hospital is reminding Rockland County residents to take precautions while working around the house this summer.

More than 90 percent of serious eye injuries can be prevented by wearing protective eyewear, however more than two thirds of people don’t. 

New York Ophthalmologist Dr. Soo Mee Pak of Ophthalmology Partners of Rockland in New City, who is on staff at Nyack Hospital, says that more than 40 percent of eye injuries are caused by projects like yard work, home repairs, cleaning and cooking.

Every household should have at least one pair of protective eyewear approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), such as safety goggles or wraparound glasses, to use during these activities and others that can cause severe eye injuries, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Protective eyewear should be worn when:

• Cooking foods that splatter hot oil or grease
• While using bleach, oven cleaner, solvents or other hazardous products
• Using drills, hammers, screws or nails
• Using curling irons or other hot objects near your face
• Opening champagne bottles
• Mowing the lawn
• Clipping the hedges or bushes
• Using power tools

Children should also wear eyewear under the following conditions:

• When watching parents perform dangerous chores
• When playing sports like baseball, racquetball, hockey, lacrosse or paintball. Children should wear eyewear with polycarbonate lenses

For more information on types of protective eyewear visit www.geteyesmart.org.