Were you ever visiting a friend and your child’s eye got injured by a foreign
body or were you ever cleaning, and a crystal fell from your hands into your
child’s eye?!
This read will be interesting for you, as the eye is one of the most injured organs in general at a rate of 10%, and 1% of humans experience at least one injury in their lifetime. According to statistics, around one third of eye injuries are observed in children. Keeping in consideration that children do not evaluate the harm in their surroundings and their motor skills are not fully developed, it is vital that parents have a good understanding of proper eye safety.
To prevent eye injury, coach your children to be eye smart, safeguarding their eyesight. It is recommended to use eye protectors, like protective goggles or unbreakable glasses when needed. Only allow them to use age- appropriate toys. There are many toys that are marked with “ASTM”, these toys meet the national safety standards of the American Society for Testing
and Materials. Use safety gates and avoid any sharp corners in your toddler and child’s common areas. Use locks for cabinets and drawers. Chemicals and hazardous material should also be kept out of reach of children.
Eye injury can be serious and usually quite painful. It is also a common cause of vision loss in children. Any injury to your child’s eye should be considered an emergency, and immediate medical care is necessary.
Possible causes of eye injury:
- Hockey
- Soccer
- Bicycling
- Sports that involve rackets
- Baseball
- Boxing
- Basketball
- Paintball
- Chemicals
- Toys
- Fingernails
If your child wears contact lenses, you can help prevent eye infection and
injury from contact lens use. Teach your child how to care for their contact
lenses. This includes:
- Hand washing prior to touching the lenses
- Removing lenses and cleaning them as often as required
- Removing lenses before going to bed at night
- Not exposing eyes to water while wearing contact lenses
- Applying make up after wearing contact lenses, not before
Types of eye injury:
- Corneal abrasions: A scratch or injury of the cornea, the clear dome shaped surface that covers the front of the eye. This is a very common occurrence in children. The most common causes are foreign bodies, and scratches from a toy or fingernail.
- Chemical burns: Occur when the child gets any type of chemical in his or her eye. Chemical burns are medical emergencies, and can result in loss of vision and even a loss of the eye itself, if not treated promptly and accurately.
- Hyphema: Blood in the interior chamber of the eye, which is the front section of the eye’s interior where fluids flow in and out, providing nourishment to the eye and surrounding tissues. Usually caused by an injury where blood is seen in the eyeball.
- Bruising or black eye: Occurs from some type of injury to the eye, causing the eye tissue around the eye to become bruised.
- Fractures of the orbit: Fracture of the bony structure around the eye. Usually occurs after strike to the face.
- Eyelid lacerations: Cuts to the eyelid.
Symptoms of eye injury:
- Blood in the eyeball
- Changes in the shape of the iris or pupil
- Eye pain.
Take into consideration that use of computers can cause eye strain. Each child may experience symptoms differently, but the most common symptoms are:
- Red, watery, irritated eyes
- Tired, aching, or heavy eyelids
- Problems with focusing
- Muscle spasms of the eye lid
- Headache
- Upset stomach or vomiting after and eye injury
- Pupils don’t look equal or is not round
- Backache
Injuries might go undetected, because of lack of symptoms. Hence, if you suspect your toddler or child has an eye injury, consult a physician immediately. To help locate scratches and small injuries, your physician might use a stain with an orange dye called fluorescein. More serious eye injuries may need imaging with x-ray, or CT scan.
Treatment depends on the type of injury.
- Foreign matter: Blinking often forces it out of the eye. Moistened cotton swabs can also be used. However, if foreign matter is embedded in the eye, treatment should be initiated in the emergency room, and antibiotics are needed. Protect the wound until you reach it.
- Scratched cornea: Usually heals without complications, but pain relievers and antibiotics are needed.
- Chemical burns: The affected eye should be immediately flushed with a steady stream of running water for around 15 minutes. Needless to mention, it is imperative to wash your hands with lukewarm water and dry it prior to touching your child’s eye. Do not rub your child’s eye.
- To ease the pain, the physician may apply surface anesthetic.
- Eyelid lacerations: Depending on the judgement of the physician, the cut may be sutured or stitched under local anesthetic. Sutures usually fall in five to seven days. Sedation may be needed for younger and uncooperative children.
- Hyphema: Should be treated in an emergency room. Treatment includes eye drops, patch over the eye, and avoiding activities like reading to prevent eye movement.
- Black eye: Treatment may include cold compresses for 24 hours, followed by warm compresses until the swelling stops. Keep the child’s head elevated. Do not panic if the swelling extends to the cheek or other eye, this is normal.
- Fractures of the orbit: Ophthalmologist decides treatment. Sometimes treatment is delayed, allowing the swelling to go down. Double vision can resolve without treatment within three or four days. Pain medicine like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or Ibuprofen (Advil) can be used as needed.
Preventing eye injury in children
Ophthalmologists suggest the following steps to prevent eye injury:
- Supervise your child where a lot of toys can be eye unfriendly and teach your little ones to play safely.
- Provide your little one with eye appropriate protection when playing sports.
Allow them to enjoy their leisure time all year round, not only during holidays, where their vision is precious and essential for learning.
References
https://publications.aap.org/pediatriccare/book/348/chapter-abstract/5784018/Ocular-Trauma-Chapter-300?redirectedFrom=fulltext
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/conditions/health-library/first-aid-for-the-eyes
Protect Your Child from Eye Injuries
https://aapos.org/glossary/eye-injury-and-safety
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/injuries-children
Eye injuries in children: the current picture – PubMed