Gardening and Eye Safety
90% of Eye Injuries are preventable
Every year in New Zealand, thousands of unnecessary eye injuries occur, both at home and in the workplace.
Research has shown that the fear of blindness is one that people throughout the world fear more than nearly any other condition.
However, many of us neglect our eyes by not wearing the correct form of eye protection while performing certain tasks.
It's a gamble we should think about more carefully before taking unecesary risks.
Safety Starts at Home
Your garden may contain many plants, implements and substances that can be hazardous to your eyes.
While most people almost automatically don gloves, boots and hats when gardening, many forget to protect their eyes by wearing the appropriate protective eyewear.
Unprotected eyes in the garden are vulnerable to injury from:
- Flying stones or debris, often flung from lawnmowers or weedeaters
- Sharp items such as stakes or tree branches
- Burns from chemical sprays
- Bacterial or fungal infections from contact with plants or dirt
Eye Protection is Simple
Protecting your eyes while gardening, whether at home or for work, is simple. Invest in a pair of safety glasses from your local hardware store. Tell your retailer what activity you will need the protection for, and they will be able to help you choose the appropriate safety equipment.
Make sure you wear eye protection when performing the following activities:
- Digging and weeding
- Mowing lawns
- Weed-eating
- Using a leaf-blower
- Using hedge trimmers
- Pruning trees and shrubs
- Using power tools
- Chopping or sawing wood
- Using sprays or chemicals
What to do if an eye injury occurs
- If sand, dirt or small debris gets into your eye/s, don't rub it. This can scratch the outer surface of the eye and cause further damage. Rinse the eye thoroughly with water. If you still cannot dislodge the particle, lightly bandage the eye and see an eye specialist.
- For blows to the eye gently apply cold compress to reduce pain and swelling. Avoid putting pressure on the eye. If you experience pain or have reduced vision in the eye or bruising, see your eye specialist immediately.
- For cuts or punctures of the eye, loosely bandage the eye without pressure and seek emergency medical care immediately!
UV and You
Recent research has shown that UV rays can severely damage your eyes and contribute to eye conditions such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, two of the most common causes of blindness in New Zealand today.
For this reason it is best to ensure that your safety glasses are 100% UV protective, or when you are not wearing safety glasses, wear sunglasses that provide 100% UV protection.
Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind - Te Tuāpāpā o te Hunga Kāpō o Aotearoa
Blindness Awareness and Prevention Division
Private Bag 99941, Newmarket, Auckland
Phone 09 355 6931, Fax 09 366 0099
Email: bap
Website www.rnzfb.org.nz