Experts advise on how to protect your eyes during Tet

Eye injuries requiring hospitalization during the holidays often increase dramatically and vision after treatment is often reduced to some extent.

Another new year is coming. The medical sector is busy preparing for the New Year for staff and patients still in the hospital, the shifts and emergency teams are also ready to do their duty. I am sure that my day on duty will not be fun, if not tiring and terrifying, during the New Year holidays.

Anyone who is a doctor, especially a trauma doctor, is too familiar with bloody accidents, sunken eyes full of blood, patients in pain and pale faces constantly trembling and asking “can you save them, doctor?” Their families and relatives are crowded outside. Everyone is worried, rich eyes, poor hands. Responsibility weighs heavily on us professionals, as well as tension and conflict.

Illustration photo.

After the treatment of eye trauma patients, the vision is often damaged to some extent, if not disappointing. Because the eye has a volume of only 4cm3, the optical nerve structure is very delicate. Even a slight injury can cause displacement or damage to its internal structure. The possibility of infection is extremely high, and the tissues are largely unable to regenerate like other soft tissues... So, eye trauma should not be allowed to happen.

It's good to know that Americans report that 90% of eye accidents can be prevented, 50% are simply due to wearing glasses when in eye-sensitive conditions. So we have many advantages to deal with eye accidents well? But in reality, no, in America every day there are still 1,000 people hospitalized for eye accidents, in our country it's probably about the same because although the population is smaller than theirs, the level of recklessness and carelessness is much higher than the Americans. After all, accidents always have a predestined element, due to circumstances: a gust of wind carrying sand and dust, a tree branch suddenly breaking off and falling, landslides... no one can avoid those things.

Always going with destiny is destiny, that is our living environment, the way we live, the carelessness and haste of people... also cause trouble for ourselves.

47% of eye accidents occur in the age group of 18-45, the working age, 25% of eye injuries occur in children. Thus, eye accidents affect the young population and future citizens. Preventing eye accidents requires the participation of the whole society, and preventive measures must be regular and widespread. We will discuss prevention right away.

Accidents happen anytime, anywhere. However, at home the most (47%), while playing sports (15%), at work (16%), traffic accidents (12%), and in other circumstances (14%).

1. Domestic accidents, accidents at home:As the Tet holiday approaches, people are increasingly overwhelmed with cleaning, decorating, and cooking. This is the case for adults, while children are off school and have fun on their own. These two factors combined cause the rate of accidents at home to skyrocket during the holidays: tree branches poking the eye, hot grease splashing into the eye, collisions or sharp objects poking the eye while playing...

Wearing safety glasses in jobs that can be dangerous to the eyes is the main prevention, not the dexterity. Housewives, imagine how effective glasses will be when you have to clean the bathroom and kitchen with acidic or caustic cleaning solutions, when we take things from the microwave or oven, or when cooking in a pan with grease.

Opening champagne bottles, beer bottles, and cans has also caused many accidents in recent years. Men should be careful when performing these operations.

What about children?

If adults are not careful, children are at risk of accidents. That is why happy days suddenly turn into sad days. Giving instructions, creating safe play spaces for children, and supervising are not enough. Sometimes disasters are the gifts or toys we give to children.

During the 2010 Lunar New Year, the Central Eye Hospital treated dozens of accidents caused by pellet guns, fireworks, and rockets originating from China. It is true that during the holidays it is difficult to refuse children's requests for toys, but we should know how to refuse for their safety.

Ophthalmologists advise parents to carefully read toy labels to ensure they are choosing gifts that are appropriate for their child’s age and development. Avoid toys with sharp, protruding or projectile parts. Always supervise children when they are playing with toys or games that pose a risk of injury.

Accidents when participating in minor repairs and home decoration are not uncommon and are often very serious. Wear safety glasses and be careful when drilling walls, when hammering, when using grinders, polishers, saws... because these activities often cause metal fragments to fly into the eyes. Do not let children hang around to watch adults work. Adults themselves should wear glasses or, better yet, a plastic face shield when participating in jobs that can harm the eyes.

For many Vietnamese, peach blossoms, kumquat trees, and other ornamental plants are the spirit of Tet. However, hidden within them are dangers: flashing lights and other decorations. The peach blossom branches can be dangerous to the eyes. Therefore, you must be very careful when approaching or moving ornamental plants in your home. Glass ornaments should be hung out of reach of children to avoid unfortunate accidents.

2. Playing sports, traveling, picnicking:Tet is a long holiday. Many people choose sports, travel, or picnics as hobbies.

Sports eye injuries are a common cause of permanent blindness because of the high impact involved in sports. In the United States, there are approximately 40,000 sports-related eye injuries each year. Failure to properly protect your eyes while participating in sports such as basketball, soccer, water sports, and racquet sports can result in serious eye injuries.

The amateur badminton movement in offices, schools, and neighborhoods is growing. Eye accidents are also increasing accordingly.

Your eye doctor and you should be proactive in using appropriate eye protection for each sport.

When traveling far away, we should prepare a first aid kit. In it should be a bottle of 0.9% eye wash salt, some cotton and antiseptic to be able to wash and bandage the eyes when needed.

3. Traffic participation:The sudden increase in traffic, alcohol, haste and lack of observation are the causes of countless eye accidents. Countries with a large number of cars have significantly reduced car accidents due to education, brake technology and airbags.

Car accidents in developed countries now account for only 5% of eye accidents. In our country, it's... terrifying, most of them are motorcycle accidents, both with and without helmets. The strong interaction of force in motorcycle accidents is the unfortunate cause of blindness in many young patients.

There is no other way, when the traffic infrastructure is still weak, the awareness of traffic participants. Some people are easily impulsive even when drinking or not drinking, reckless and disregard the law... It is scary if these people participate in traffic. So let's warn ourselves: if you drink too much, don't drive and be careful on the road.

If an accident happens, do not rush or act rashly. We should remember the following principles when giving first aid to ourselves and our loved ones if we are unfortunate enough to have an eye accident:

- Do not press hard or rub the wound on the eye.

- Do not try to remove foreign objects from your eye yourself.

- If liquid gets into eyes and causes burns, rinse eyes under running water for about 15 minutes.

- Do not put eye drops or ointment into your eyes yourself.

- For bleeding wounds, only cover with a bandage. For swollen and bruised wounds, ice or cold water can be applied.

- If dust gets into your eyes, dip your eyes in a bowl or cup of water, open your eyes wide and blink 4-5 times to let the dust flow out.

- Eye examination at the nearest specialist facility

It may not be appropriate to talk about accidents on a happy day. However, it is advisable to talk about accident prevention. A happy day is short-lived if...so be careful. Wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year./.

According to VOV.VN