Usa: August Is Eye Injury Prevention Month

This year, the American Academy of Ophthalmology is partnering with the American Society of Ocular Trauma to sponsor the Eye Injury Snapshot Project, an an annual study that identifies the nature of eye injuries.

In the spring of 2005, participating doctors from across the country, including ophthalmologists and emergency, pediatric and family physicians, submitted anonymous reports of eye injuries they treated over the course of a week. Nearly 70 percent of those injured were not wearing protective eyewear, and most of the doctors felt that the injury could have been avoided if eyewear had been worn.

'The study demonstrates the incredible scope of eye trauma in this country, occurring without respect to age, gender or region of the country', said Paul Sternberg Jr., M.D., Academy secretary for communications. 'A large percentage of these injuries are preventable, either by avoiding activities that could lead to injury or by wearing protective eyewear'.

'Fortunately, our nation's ophthalmologists have the skill and training to treat most of these patients to minimize the amount of permanent vision loss', Dr. Sternberg added.