Sugarland Eye & Laser Center would like to wish everyone happy and safe holidays during Safe Toys and Celebration Month!
Everyone is looking forward to the season as December is the time of year when we get together with family and friends for fun and festivities and also to exchange gifts. But did you know that this is also the time of the year when many toy-related and celebration injuries can happen?
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, roughly a quarter of a million children visit hospital emergency rooms each year for injuries caused by toys and sporting equipment. Around 50% of these injuries occur to the head and face area, including the eyes. Nearly three-quarters of the victims are children under the age of 15. Some of the common eye injuries that occur include corneal abrasion, corneal ulcers and retinal detachment.
These injuries are preventable, and so in an effort to spread awareness about eye safety and to help adults make better decision when picking gifts for young ones, Prevent Blindness America has declared December as Safe Toys and Celebration Month.
Toy Purchasing Safety Guidelines
Here are some shopping tips for the season:
*Read all instructions and warnings.
*Make sure the toy is appropriate not only to the child’s age, but more importantly, to their ability. Age warnings are not always a guarantee of safety.
*Make sure the toy has the letters "ASTM" on it, which stands for the America Society for Testing and Materials. If you see this label, this means the toy meets the national safety standards.
*Make sure the toys are sturdily built. They should be durable and not break into small, dangerous pieces upon impact.
Toys to Avoid
Prevent Blindness America advises consumers to avoid the following:
*Toys with sharp, pointed ends, such as those with spikes and rods.
*Toys that shoot projectiles, including guns that shoot soft projectiles (e.g. cushy darts).
*Toys that have parts that fly off.
*For kids under the age of 3, do not give toys with small parts as they are choking hazards. Very young children love putting things inside their mouth, so giving them toys with small parts puts them at risk of choking. The rule of thumb is: if the toy can fit inside a toilet paper tube, don’t give it to young children.
*Toys with strings longer than 12 inches (such as kites) are strangulation hazards for children under three years.
Celebration Safety Tips
Here are ways to celebrate Christmas while minimizing your risk for eye injuries:
*Sometimes branches and needs from Christmas trees lurch forward and can hurt your eyes, so be sure to untie your tree slowly.
*Open champagne bottles with care. Chill the drink to at least 45 degrees before opening it and make sure to angle the bottle at 45 degrees away from yourself when removing the cork.
Your eyesight is the window to the world. Keep them healthy and safe. If you need more information on eye safety or other topics related to eye health, such as LASIK or cataract eye surgery, give us a call or visit us at our Houston office. If you want to know more about our one day LASIK event on January 116, 2015, please follow this link for more details: www. sugarlandeye.com/newyear2015
Via Prevent Blindness America http://www.preventblindness.org/eye-health-safety
Sugarland Eye & Laser Center leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The Center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as iLASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS and Air Force fighter pilots. At Sugarland Eye & Laser Center, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478 or visit us at www.houston-lasik.com.
About the Author
Amjad Khokhar, M.D. is Chief LASIK Surgeon at Sugarland Eye & Laser Center. Add Dr. Khokhar on Google+ here.
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