Since our eyes are the windows to the world, caring for them is incredibly important. Protecting them when you are working or doing household chores is often overlooked.

The leading cause of blindness in young American males is eye injury, half of them in the workplace, the other at home. Regardless of where you are, protection is paramount.

To avoid eye-injuries, follow these three simple steps whether at home or at work.

1.    Wear eye protection
It goes without saying that some people on the job, for example, get lazy over time. We’ve all seen the welders spark a weld without eye protection. “I’ll just close my eyes because it’s a quick, simple weld.” That’s when more accidents happen. Regardless of the task, remember to wear PROPER (yes, different jobs require different protection) protection.

2.    Understand the dangers
Sparks happen and bleach never splashes the way it should. Make sure that you take a second and think about the dangers of your chore before you jump in.

3.    Use machine guards, screens and other controls
Yes, we know, sometimes these things REALLY get in the way, BUT, would you rather work around these guards (that are really there to protect you, we promise) or lose your sight?

So the next time you’re about to use something that could cause a splash, spark, ricochet, poke, prod or puncture, think about your beautiful blues (or whatever eye-color you may have) and protect them.

But if an eye emergency does happen around Wichita, call the Cohlmia Eye Center Emergency number at 316.264.8932 and we’ll get you taken care of as fast as we can.