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As we approach the final push in the festive shopping sprees, eye doctors are reminding us to exercise a certain amount of caution when choosing toys, or gizmo's and gadgets for the " big children" this season that can cause eye injury.
Not to want to take the fun out of Christmas, there are always some gifts that once opened and tested suddenly pose a very real threat to eye safety that may have not been apparent at the time of choosing.
Toys that shoot out projectiles are very common and these plus any that include a laser sight or laser device are the most common types to inflict injury, along with the common sense approach of toys that may have parts that stick out or may be sharp. Reports show that last year over a quarter of a million toy-related injuries were treated in A&E rooms and the majority percentage of these were from children under the age of fifteen. The most reported injuries were scratches to the cornea, ocular hyphema, increased intraocular pressure and traumatic cataract all that require a surgery procedure to treat. The provision and use of protective safety goggles would have reduced and prevented many of the cases.