Annual Snapshot of Eye Injuries

In the United States, men are 3x more likely to suffer an eye injury, according to the Eye Injury Snapshot, and annual survey conducted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the American Society of Ocular Trauma (ASOT).  Conducted during a 1-week period in the spring of 2010, the survey revealed that men suffered about three-quarters (73.5%) of all reported eye injuries, and the survey also found that most of the total eye injuries suffered occurred at home, while doing chores or playing sports. 

The AAO and the ASOT collected eye injury data each year to help increase public awareness and to encourage behavior that can help circumvent eye injuries.  The Eye Injury Snapshot survey also found the following:

• One quarter of eye injuries that occur at home resulted from play/sport activities
• One quarter occurred during home repair work or while using power tools.
• Most home-based eye injuries occurred in the yard or garden
• About 50% of reported injuries occurred in men and women 30-64 years of age; children < 12 years of age accounted for about 12% of injuries. 
• Almost half of eye injuries occurred between noon and 7:00 pm. 

To prevent some of the most common eye injuries that happen during household chores and repairs, the AAO and the ASOT recommend that every household have at least one pair of protective eyewear approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).  ANSI-approved eye wear is available at most hardware and home improvement stores and can be identified by the mark "Z87".  For sports activities, eye wear approved by the American Society for Testing the Materials is recommended.  To locate Appropriate eyewear for specific sports, the AAO and the ASOT suggests that clinicians tell their patients to talk to their ophthalmologists or visit the AAO Web site, www.geteyesmart.org.