Eye Safety Tips from Columbia Optometrist to Prevent Toy-Related Injuries

Toys provide children with hours of enjoyment, but some can be dangerous for their eyes. Making sure that your children are safe from eye injuries caused by toys is important, since these injuries can increase their risk of developing other eye conditions or vision loss. Keep these eye safety tips from Columbia optometrist in mind to help protect your children’s eyes. 

Types of Toy-Related Eye Injuries

Toys can cause a wide range of injuries to children’s eyes. Some injuries are small scratches, but others can put your child’s vision at risk. These serious injuries include corneal abrasions, which are scratches on the eye’s front surface, traumatic cataracts, retinal detachment, corneal ulcers and bleeding. If your child suffers from a toy-related injury, our optometrist in Columbia, MO can provide prompt treatment in order to lower the risk of vision loss or other complications. 

High-Risk Toys

Some types of toys have a higher risk of causing eye injuries than others. If your children have these toys or if you are considering getting them, you should consider alternative toys that do not pose a risk to their eyes. High-risk toys include any type of toy gun or projectile, such as darts, water guns, water balloon launchers and toy swords or sabers. Toy wands, laser pointers, aerosol string and games that use toy fishing poles are other toys that can cause eye injuries, especially when they are used incorrectly. While most of these toys can cause damage by striking the eye, others are hazardous due to lights or chemicals. Aerosol string can cause corneal abrasions due to its chemical content. Laser pointers can cause damage due to light intensity.

Contact Our Eye Doctor in Columbia, MO

If your children are due for eye exams or if they have eye problems, please contact our eye doctor in Columbia to set up an appointment by calling 573-445-7750. We will take steps to protect your children’s vision and eye health with our optometry services in Columbia, MO.

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