Keeping Your Eyes Protected

Our vision is essential to the work we do and the fun we have. But our eyes are also sensitive and susceptible to injury. One of the simplest and most effective ways to keep your eyes safe during work, home maintenance, and sports is to wear appropriate eyewear.

Contact us or come in to learn what safety eyewear best for your lifestyle and needs.

Eye Injuries to Watch Out For

Most eye injuries can be prevented by simply wearing protective glasses. In situations where you can’t control all the variables, at least you can rely on goggles or other eyewear to protect you from debris or an errant piece of sports gear.

Common Work Hazards to Eyes Include:

Dust, dirt, and branches blowing in the wind
Flying particles from digging, drilling, and similar operations
UV radiation from welding
Splashes
Errant fibres from fibreglass or other insulating materials
Irritating and corrosive chemicals

Eye Injuries During Sports

Injuries can happen during both high-impact (hockey and baseball) and low-impact sports (swimming and yoga). The 2 most common types of sports-related eye injuries are:

Blunt trauma, like a ball hitting the eye or the surrounding area can cause retinal detachment or tears, injury to the iris, or a broken bone.
Corneal abrasion from contact with the cornea that causes a scratch can occur when a finger or sand gets in the eye.

COVID-19 & Specialty Eyewear

A fascinating 2020 study found that there may be a link between eye protection and a reduced chance of contracting COVID-19. It wasn’t clear from the study why the eye protection was helpful. It may have been because they stopped people from touching their eyes or because it stopped infectious particles from reaching the vulnerable membrane of the eye. Or, it could be that people who wore glasses were more likely to be older people who could stay home away from infected areas.

For people who work in high-risk environments during the pandemic, safety eyewear has been a crucial piece of personal protective equipment. While it’s not clear that people who don’t currently wear glasses would gain significant benefit from wearing safety goggles in their daily life, your optometrist can answer any questions you have about safety eyewear and COVID-19.