Eye Injuries Common Among Fireworks, Protect Yourself

Usually when we think of fireworks accidents we think of people getting hurt by burns or losing fingers. Yeah, it's morbid, but it's important to be safe around fireworks because they are in fact explosives. Even sparklers burn hot enough to melt glass. It can be very dangerous. Today we had an opthamologist from Relf Eye Care share some safety tips and statistics involving fireworks and eye injuries.

Dr. Todd Brittain told us that statistically most eye injuries happen to people that aren't necessarily lighting off the fireworks. They could be bystanders that get injured. Safety glasses obviously can help with fireworks, and keeping a safe distance is also a good idea.

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15% of firework reported injuries are to the eyes. Of those, 36% of them are kids 16 and under. Children should always be supervised while using fireworks such as sparklers or other things. You can find more of these sobering statistics at the American Academy of Ophthalmologists. 

We asked Dr. Todd Brittain what you should do if you end up getting an eye injury. First thing he told us was to not touch your eye. Don't rub it and don't try to rinse it out. You could cause more damage. Next, don't eat anything until you can get in for emergency care. If you've had surgery before, you know they ask you not to eat before your surgery. If emergency surgery is required, this way you will be better ready to go.