To raise awareness about the importance of eye safety during the holiday season, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has designated December as “Safe Toys and Celebrations Month.” This designation serves to remind people that common holiday traditions, like new toys for children, seasonal decorations, and certain festive activities, can put them and their loved ones at risk of sustaining preventable eye injuries.
To protect the healthy vision of your loved ones and friends this holiday season, keep reading to learn more about why Safe Toys and Celebrations Month is important and the steps you can take to keep their eyes safe.
Choose Toys Wisely
According to the AAO, thousands of children are treated each year for toy-related eye injuries. These injuries can range from minor irritations to more serious conditions, like corneal abrasions and retinal damage, that can lead to permanent vision loss.
The four types of toys that are most likely to cause injury are:
Toys That Shoot Projectiles
Even when the projectiles are made of soft foam, these toys can shoot objects with enough force to cause severe damage if they hit an eye.
Toys With Pointed Ends or Sharp Edges
Play swords, bow and arrow sets, fishing poles, and lightsabers are just some of the toys with pointed ends or sharp edges that can cause eye injuries if not properly handled.
Toys That Come with Aerosol Sprays
Aerosol sprays that come with model or craft kits and novelty aerosol toys, like silly string, contain chemicals that can burn or damage the structures of the eye and surrounding skin.
Laser Pointers
When shined directly into the eye, laser pointers can cause temporary vision impairment or retinal burns that can result in permanent vision loss.
Decorate Thoughtfully
Holiday decorations are another potential source of eye injuries, particularly ornaments made of glass or thin metal, as well as pine needles from trees and wreaths. A broken ornament or shedding greenery can result in sharp fragments that can get lodged in a person’s eye.
When decorating, it’s best to hang or place fragile or easily breakable items where young children and pets can’t reach them. If you put up a Christmas tree, be sure that it is in an area with plenty of room on all sides for people to get by without having to get too close.
Setting up outdoor holiday decorations can also lead to eye injuries. It’s important never to use a ladder alone and to wear protective eyewear when hanging lights or assembling large or unwieldy decorations.
Celebrate with Care
Celebratory fireworks, either to commemorate the holidays or welcome the new year, can pose risks to eye safety and health. Even seemingly harmless sparklers can reach temperatures hot enough to cause severe burns to the eyes and eye area when mishandled.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 19% of injuries caused by fireworks are eye injuries. In addition to burns, eye injuries can occur when shrapnel or debris from fireworks gets lodged in the eyes, causing corneal abrasions or worse.
While attending a professional fireworks display is the safest option, there are steps you can take to prevent eye injury when setting off fireworks at home. The AAO recommends you:
- Always wear protective eyewear around fireworks
- Never launch fireworks from a glass or metal container
- Maintain a safe distance from lit fireworks and keep onlookers well away from the area where fireworks are being set off
- Never let children set off fireworks without adult supervision
This December, use Safe Toys and Celebration Month to consider how you can make your holidays safer for your loved ones’ eyes. Simple steps, like choosing the right toy to give, placing glass ornaments on higher branches, and following fireworks safety guidelines, can prevent an accidental eye injury from ruining your festive celebrations.
Do you want to learn more about how you can protect your child’s eyes this holiday season? Schedule an appointment at Shepherd Eye Center in one of our five locations in Las Vegas or Henderson, NV, today!
