The eye is one of the most precious organs in the human body.  Yet most people take its power for granted every day; leaving their fragile eyes unprotected against the dangers inherently present in our environment.  According to the Department of Health and Human Services, about 2,000 eye injuries occur daily in the United States alone.  The most alarming part of this statistic, is the fact that a majority of these injuries can be prevented.

The ability to see is a gift most people have received, and a devastating gift to lose.  That is why it is so important to take the necessary precautions to prevent an eye injury.  Contrary to popular belief, most injuries are not accidents.  They are predictable, and most certainly preventable.  Take for example performing home repairs; according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, only 35 percent of people wear protective eye wear when performing home repairs or maintenance.  This number is alarming when you also consider that nearly half of all eye injuries occur in the home.  To prevent this number from increasing, the American Academy of Ocular Trauma recommends that every household have at least one pair of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved protective eye wear for home use.  Wearing protective eye wear can help prevent 90 percent of all eye injuries, so make sure that you have these available for use in your home.

If you or someone you know has suffered an eye injury, please contact an ophthalmologist immediately.  Eye injuries can cause serious vision loss.  So it is important that a trained medical doctor quickly provide the appropriate treatment.  If an eye injury does result in blindness, discoloration, or volume loss there is a cosmetic solution.  A prosthetic eye known as a scleral shell is designed to be worn comfortably over an injured eye.

For more information on scleral shell prosthetic eye restoration, please contact any of our board certified ocularists today.  We are happy to answer any of your questions.