Prevent Eye Injury by Knowing the Facts

Each of us can be very effective in preventing eye injury by knowing the facts and some important information that helps you to keep your vision healthy throughout your life. You probably know some of the risks of eye injury but may be unaware that by wearing proper protective eyewear it is possible to prevent 90 percent of those injuries! What is troubling is that according to a survey by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, only 35 percent of people say that they always wear protective eyewear when performing home repairs or maintenance and even less wear protective eyewear while playing sports.

Eye Injury Facts and Myths

·         Who is more likely to have an eye injury-men or women? Men!

·         Are eye injuries more common on the job or at home? Nearly half of all eye injuries occurred in the home! In fact more than 40 percent of eye injuries were caused by projects and activities such as home repairs, yard work, cleaning and cooking. More than a third of injuries in the home occurred in living areas such as the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living or family room.

·         More than 40 percent of eye injuries every year are related to sports or recreational activities.

·         Eyes can be damaged by sun exposure, not just chemicals, dust or objects.

·         Among people who have had eye injuries, more than 78 percent of people were not wearing eyewear at the time of injury!

If you or someone you know is concerned about eye injury and wants to learn more about preventing eye injuries and protective eyewear, please feel free to call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.

Tips for Work & Home Eye Safety

Every day, more than 2,000 workers in the U.S. sustain job-related work injuries that require some type of medical treatment. Prevent Blindness America reports that 2.4 million eye injuries occur each year, with nearly 1 million resulting in some degree of vision loss. About 90 percent of these injuries are avoidable, when the right eye protection is worn, reports the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The most common eye injuries are:

• Cuts or scrapes from flying objects, such as metal and wood chips, that become embedded in the eye
• Burns from steam, infrared light or splashes of chemicals, grease or oil
• Infections from contaminated substances, such as splashes of blood or respiratory droplets or other products on fingers that are used to touch or rub the eyes 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires workers to use eye and face protection whenever there is a reasonable probability of injury that could be prevented with proper equipment, such as goggles, face shields or safety glasses. The best way to avoid eye injury from household chores, activities and tasks is to wear proper protective eyewear.

If you have questions or need assistance with protective eyewear selection or fitting please call

Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.

Low Vision Optical Devices

While our ability to detect, diagnose and treat eye disease and eye health problems that can result in vision loss has continued to improve tremendously, we still encounter patients-particularly seniors with age related macular degeneration (AMD) or those with diabetic retinopathy who can benefit from using low vision optical devices.

About Low Vision Devices

A lot of patients with low vision needs discover magnifying lenses on their own but introduction to new more sophisticated devices is very important. A person's visual function is not considered to be impaired until the vision in the better eye has deteriorated to at least 20/50 or worse. Magnification devices are available for both near and distance. The degree of magnification required depends on the patient's visual acuity and the work for which the patient wishes to use the optical aid. There are a few different kinds of low vision optical devices.

Hand Readers-the advantage of a hand magnifier is that it is small and relatively inexpensive and easy to carry in a pocket or purse. The strength of hand magnifiers ranges from 1x (4D) to 20x (80D). Most patients, when buying magnifiers, believe that the larger the lens area, the greater the magnification. Exactly the reverse is true. A large plus lens cannot be a strong plus lens or, conversely, the higher the plus power of the lens, the smaller the lens must be to reduce distortion. It is good to know that holding a strong lens close to the eye increases the viewing area.

Stand Magnifiers-provide a prefocused mounting, allowing stability for patients with tremors to rest the magnifier directly on the material to be seen. The power of these magnifiers can be as great as 60 diopters and some have illumination incorporated within their design.

Telescopes-allow magnification of an object in the distance by increasing the retinal image size. Telescopes can be hand held or spectacle framed. They come as binocular or monocular and most are focusable. Telescopes allow the spotting of street signs, classroom materials, bus signs, etc.

Projection Devices-closed circuit television is a useful aid, with the camera scanning the reading material and projecting the image on a monitor. The benefit of CCTV is that the magnification is available to 60x and the contrast and brightness can be adjusted. In addition, there projection devices that can read documents back to patients.

If you or someone you know would like to learn more about low vision devices, please call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.

Wear Visors to Avoid Hockey Eye Injury

As a pediatric ophthalmologist I am very aware of the needs of parents, coaches and players to have information and take steps to avoid eye injury. Hockey is particularly popular in Connecticut both by observers and fans as well as among middle school, high school and college athletes. Eye injury is a series risk among hockey players and it requires that parents and players take some precautions-specifically the use of visors to minimize the risk of hockey eye injury. Based on research presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, you should be aware that the researchers found that wearing visors could cause a four-fold decrease in the risk of eye injuries. The researchers, based at the University of Toronto and Harvard Medical School, examined data from The Sports Network (TSN) and The Hockey News annual visor survey over the last 10 seasons from 2002 to 2013 in the NHL. The data clearly demonstrated that the risk of eye injury is 4.23 times higher for players who do not wear a visor. The study also found that the majority of eye injuries are caused by being hit by the puck (37%) or struck by a high stick (28%) or by a fight or scrum (18%), while the researchers could not identify the cause of injury for 17%. Further, players without visors had a more aggressive style of play, measured by penalty minutes, hits and fights in a case-control study.

If you or someone you know plays hockey please share this information with them to help them decrease their risk of hockey eye injury, or please feel free to call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.