Eyeglass injuries
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ray Sass with HHS HealthBeat. Eyeglasses can be great for vision, but they can also hurt your eyes. A study in Ophthalmic Epidemiology says eyeglasses were the focus of 27,000 emergency room visits in 2002 and 2003. More than 1,000 of these led to hospitalization. Researchers say most of these injuries could be prevented if people better understood their glasses’ limits. Sara Sinclair of Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio has an example: "They're not a substitute for safety goggles when they are in the activity of high risk of injury." (six seconds) Nearly two thirds of Americans wear glasses. And glasses-related injuries affected all age groups. Falls caused most injuries among seniors. Young adults suffered heavily from sports-related injuries. The report, supported by HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cited eye injuries among the leading causes of blindness in working-age adults. Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ray Sass. Last revised: August, 15 2006 | 
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