Protect Your Eyes this 4th of July!
Jun 29, 2018 @ 09:17 AM — by Cornea Associates of Texas
As the 4th of July Holiday approaches, be sure to practice good eye safety. As beautiful as fireworks are, we encourage you to be careful in order to avoid a serious situation with your eyes.
Dr. Zaffos shared the following story about a teenager we treated recently:
I inherited a teenager several months ago as a patient who sustained a firework injury while celebrating the New Year's holiday.
Unfortunately, he developed inflammation in his eye and eyelids from the injury leaving his sight severely impaired. He is dealing with an entropion (or inward rotation of his eyelid) which causes his eyelashes to constantly rub up against his cornea. This has caused him significant pain and light sensitivity. This injury resulted in the need for surgery with Oculoplastics to help rotate his eyelid and eyelashes in the appropriate direction. His cornea also has severe scarring and stem cell damage. I am using several eye drops (autologous serum tears, and other anti-inflammatory agents) to help stimulate his stem cells to improve his cornea health prior to moving forward with a possible cornea transplant. As you can see, one incident with a firework can result in severe, vision threatening consequences that are very difficult to treat!
The American Academy of Ophthalmology also shared this firefighter's story of his injury resulting from fireworks. https://www.aao.org/eye-health/patient-stories-detail/jay-firefighter-fireworks-injury
Here are some ways you can avoid injury from fireworks, https://www.preventblindness.org/prevent-eye-injuries-fireworks
Join us in celebrating the freedoms we enjoy and please remember to protect your eyes!