Author: Calana

Protect Your Vision This 4th of July: Firework Risks & First Aid Protocol

This Summer we are getting ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country. With every 4th of July celebration, we see the sky come to light with brilliant flashes of light —While most of us look up in awe, eye doctors and emergency room staff are bracing for their busiest days of the year.

Every year, thousands of people rush to the emergency room with firework-related injuries. What people don’t often realize is that 16% of those injuries affect the eyes, many of which lead to permanent blindness. Source

If you or a loved one plan to use fireworks, understanding the risks and taking some simple precautions can mean the difference between a lifetime of memories and a lifetime of vision loss.

How do fireworks cause blindness? 

An explosion from fireworks isn’t just noisy, it delivers a devastating mix of forces that our eyes simply aren’t built to withstand. When a firework misfires or explodes near the face, it inflicts a combination of three types of severe trauma:

  • Blunt Force Trauma: Just the kinetic force of a flying projectile can cause a globe rupture (literally the bursting of the eyeball!), a detached retina, or orbital fractures (bone breaks around the eye).
  • Thermal Burns: Fireworks burn at extremely high temperatures! The intense heat can “cook” the delicate clear surface of your eye (the cornea), or even melt your eyelids, causing irreversible scarring.
  • Chemical Exposure: Fireworks are loaded with sulfur, gunpowder, and heavy metals. Those chemicals all help create those beautiful colors, but when they embed themselves into the eye, they can cause severe chemical burns that continue to destroy tissue even after the initial explosion.

Myth v. Reality: What do you really need to know?

Many of us think we are safe because we only use “small” fireworks, or because we’re just standing back and enjoying the show. Data tells a completely different story:

  • “Sparklers are safe!” Don’t let a sparkler’s small size trick you. A sparkler burns at over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hot enough to melt glass! Data from the American Academy of Ophthalmology says that sparklers aloneaccount for roughly 1,400 eye injuries a year! Handing someone a sparkler (especially a child) is like handing them a live welding torch. Source
  • “I’m just a bystander, I won’t get hurt.” You do not have to be the one lighting the fuse to lose your vision. Of all firework-related eye injuries, 65% happen to bystanders! These injuries include people just watching from the driveway or the yard when a bottle rocket strays off course or an aerial shell explodes sideways.
  • “If a firework doesn’t go off, it’s a dud.” Never count on a firework being a “dud”, a dud is just a ticking time bomb. Fuses on fireworks that don’t go off can slowly smolder on the inside, and the moment someone walks over to inspect a failed firework is usually the time it finally detonates, leading to explosions in the face.

Safety checklist:

There’s only one item to check off your list to protect your eyes from fireworks, and that’s to leave it to the professionals and attend a public, licensed display. Fireworks are illegal in the city of Bellingham, but if you happen to live somewhere that consumer fireworks are legal and choose to use them, treat them like the explosives that they are.

What to do (and what NOT to do) in an emergency: If someone experiences a firework eye injury, it is a medical emergency. Call 911 or get to an ER immediately, and follow the protocol below while waiting for help: Source

  • Do NOT rub the eye. Rubbing can push any shrapnel or sharp debris deeper into the eye and worsen bleeding.
  • Do NOT rinse the eye. If the eyeball is ruptured, rinsing can wash out vital internal fluids of the eye.
  • Do NOT apply pressure. Do not press the eye or tightly bind it. Instead, tape the bottom of a clean paper cup over the eye to protect it from being touched.
  • Do NOT use ointments or medication. Do not use any eye drops or apply any creams or ointments. Do not take blood-thinning pain relievers like aspirin or ibuprofen, which could increase bleeding.

Celebrate safely! Enjoy the lights in the sky and protect the eyes you use to see them! Our office will be closed for observance of the holiday on Friday, July 3rd.

Fun In the Summer Sun

It’s a beautiful, bright day and you’re headed for the beach or pool. You have your towels, sun lotion, refreshing drinks, and toys for the kids. That’s all great, but what about quality sunglasses for everyone in the family? They are, after all, every bit as important as that sun lotion you just bought or the vitamins and medications you take to protect other parts of your body.

We’ve all heard about reflections from the water, but, if the beach is your destination, did you know reflections from the sand there can also hurt unprotected eyes and be a contributing cause of what’s called photokeratitis, which is basically a sunburn of your eyes.

The benefits of sporting sunglasses at the beach or pool don’t just stop there, though. They also protect your skin…that super sensitive area around the eyes. These are just a few of the reasons everyone in the family should wear sunglasses. As the John Hopkins School of Medicine points out, “Wearing sunglasses as frequently as possible from a young age is key to minimizing…damage to the eye and surrounding tissues” (Source).

PROTECTION

All well-made sun wear offers protection, and there are lots of choices when it comes to lens materials in the sunglasses you choose. If you do a lot of yardwork, “Sunglasses that are made of a polycarbonate material can act like a safety glass, so they give the added benefit of protecting you from things flying in your eye while mowing the lawn or working in your yard,” explains Baylor College of Medicine ophthalmologist Masih Ahmed, M.D.(Source).

Just as polycarbonate is a super safety material, so polarized lenses offer great protection from the sun when you’re on or near the water.  According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, polarized lenses have a special “chemical applied to them to filter light. The lenses block all the horizontal light waves bouncing off a smooth pond or a shiny car hood, for instance” (Source).

TIC TOC

While it’s best to consider your sunglasses a must-wear accessory and keep them on whenever you’re outside this summer, there are certain times of day when the sun’s intensity is most likely to affect your eye health and vision if you don’t wear them.

Most of us assume midday is the most critical time to sport your sunnies. In fact, early morning and late afternoon are just as important because those are the hours when the sun can actually do the most damage to your eyes.

All this is why it’s so important not just to wear sunnies, but to make sure the lenses in them are high quality and offer the most protection. One spectacle lens company, Shamir, based in sunny San Diego, is dedicated to providing you just that…the best!

So, by all means, pack that big beach ball and the oversized beach towel when you head for the water. Just make sure you’ve also included quality sunglasses for every member of the family.

Have fun. Be safe. And book your next appointment with us to ask about what Shamir sun lens options are best for you. Learn more here about the importance of sunglasses.

Introducing The Next Generation of Invisible Lenses

In today’s world where we are constantly on camera – whether it be FaceTime with friends and family, important work meetings over Zoom, or taking a quick selfie – the way our glasses look matters just as much as how they help you see.

For years, even the best anti-reflective coatings had a tell-tale sign that they were present: a slight blue or green reflection that could mask your eyes or cause distracting glare. Binyon Vision Center is excited to introduce a breakthrough in lens technology that changes that: Crizal® Natural Look™.

Why is it a game changer? Most premium anti reflective coatings today still have a visible color reflection. Crizal® has created a product that has the least visible coating on the market. 

  • Nearly invisible reflections: These lenses are designed to be virtually invisible to those looking at you by removing that residual reflection of color. 
  • Natural colors: Other anti reflective coatings, including other coatings from Crizal® (like Crizal® Sapphire), can have a slightly yellow tint or cast that can alter the appearance of colors. This has been significantly diminished with Crizal® Natural Look™.
  • Less distracting light: Experts have noticed less distracting light reflecting inside the lens compared to traditional anti reflective coatings.

All-in-one protection: Top of the line protection against scratches, smudges and fingerprints, dust and water, and UV rays (has both front and backside UV protection).

Look your best, see your best

Crizal® Natural Look™ is designed for the patient who treats their eyewear as not just a functional necessity, but as an aesthetic accessory as well. It’s the perfect match for those who want their eyes to be the star of the show over their lenses.

We believe your glasses should be a window, not a barrier. If you feel it’s time to upgrade your lenses to superior durability, upgraded clarity, and better aesthetics, give us a call at 360-647-2020 to set up time to chat with an optician.