Eye injury prevention month is the perfect time to brush up on Gilbert eye care best practices for protecting your precious eyes from damage. You’re probably already aware of the need to shield your eyes from sun damage by wearing UV-protecting sun glasses for example, but there is still so much more that you can do. Follow these tips to keep your eyes safe, and protect your sight over the long term.
Don’t let your guard down at home
We tend to associate eye injuries with dangerous work places. So many people are shocked when they hear the American Academy of Ophthalmology‘s statistic that almost half of all injuries to the eye occur at home.
Common sources of eye injury at home include hot splashes into the eye when cooking, dust or dirt getting into the eye when in the yard, or chemical exposure from common household cleaning solutions.
The good news is that it’s easy to prevent almost all of these types of injuries. An inexpensive pair of protective eyewear that you can buy at your local hardware store can prevent your eyes from coming into contact with things that can hurt them. Making it a habit to avoid rubbing your eyes, especially when you have dust or other irritating particles on your hands, will dramatically cut down on your odds of getting debris into your eyes.
Protect your eyes when participating in sports with Gilbert eye care best practices
A large number of injuries to the eye occur due to recreational or sporting activities. As with injuries that occur in the home, most eye injuries that result from participating in sports or other recreational activities can be prevented. 
Prevention begins with knowing what sports place you at the greatest risk of injury. Racquet sports are considered very high risk, so wearing protective eyewear when you play is a good idea. Basketball, fencing, baseball, and water sports are also high on the list when it comes to mishaps causing damage to the eye.
When choosing protective eyewear, consider exactly what you need it to protect your eyes from. For example, in a sport like basketball or baseball, you’ll be thinking about how to protect your eyes if the ball hits them hard. You’ll need to choose protective eyewear that won’t shatter under the force of a hard hit from a ball. If fencing is your sport of choice, you’ll need eyewear that won’t allow the tip of the blade to reach your eye – specialty eye protection made for fencing will be required.
Keep your eyes safe at work
Depending on the type of work you do, you may have to take into account the need to avoid getting metal or wood shavings in your eye, preventing exposure to overly bright light when welding, or general protection from workplace chemicals. Do an assessment of what risks you’re exposed to at work and take measures to prevent accidents.
Use all Gilbert eye care information available to protect your eyes from damage
Eye injury prevention month is the perfect time to take note of the risks that your eyes could be facing, and make a plan to protect them. Protecting your eyes is easy, and usually requires nothing more than a little bit of knowledge and the right protective eyewear. Talk to your eye care professional to find out more about what you should be doing for your specific situation.