Be Safe and Prevent Eye Injury

More than one million people suffer eye injuries each year in the United States. Appropriate protective eyewear could prevent ninety percent of these injuries.

Choose protective eyewear with "ANSI Z87.1" marked on the lens or frame. This means the glasses, goggles, or face shield meets the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z87.1 safety standard.

Follow these tips to protect your eyes:

In the house

When using household chemicals, read instructions and labels carefully, work in a well-ventilated area and make sure to point spray nozzles away from you. Many chemicals are extremely hazardous and can permanently destroy the surface of your eyes, resulting in blindness.

In the workshop

Think about the work you will be doing and wear protective eyewear to shield your eyes from flying fragments, fumes, dust particles, sparks and splashing chemicals. Many objects can fly into your eyes unexpectedly and cause injury.

In the garden

Put on protective eyewear before you use a lawnmower, power trimmer or edger and be sure to check for rocks and stones because they can become dangerous projectiles as they shoot from these machines.

In the workplace

Wear appropriate safety eyewear for your job. Many of the thousands injured each day didn't think they needed eye protection or were wearing eyewear inappropriate for the job.

Around the car

Battery acid, sparks and debris from damaged or improperly jump-started auto batteries can severely damage your eyes. Keep protective goggles in the trunk of your car to use for those emergencies and everyday repairs.

During sports and recreation

Boxing and full-contact martial arts pose an extremely high risk of serious and even blinding eye injuries. There is no satisfactory eye protection for boxing, although thumbless gloves may reduce the number of boxing eye injuries.

Contact lenses offer NO PROTECTION, and contact lens wearers require additional protection when participating in sports.