Fireworks Eye Safety

Explosives Are Not Toys

To anyone lucky enough to have never been injured by fireworks, they might just seem like exciting lights and sounds, but the fact of the matter is that fireworks—from bottle rockets and Roman candles to mortars and artillery shells—are explosives. Even when they fire in the right direction, they can project tiny pieces of shrapnel toward nearby spectators at high speeds.

Even poppers and sparklers aren’t as safe as they seem. Sparklers burn at temperatures over 1200°F! That’s not something we want anywhere near our eyes. A few good rules for sparklers are to always supervise children under age 12 when they use them, don’t run with them, hold them at arm’s length from the body, and only use one at a time.

Eye Injuries Are Too Common

Every year, thousands of people are injured by fireworks. In 2014 alone, 1,300 people went to emergency rooms specifically for eye injuries. More significantly, it was the bystanders who suffered the majority of those injuries, not the operators.

All it takes is one spark or fast-moving piece of shrapnel to cause permanent blindness. Don’t let this happen to you or your loved ones!

Safety First!

The safest thing you can do is avoid home fireworks entirely and only go to professional displays, but if you are doing fireworks at home, make sure you follow these safety tips:

• Carefully follow all safety instructions on the labels of your fireworks.
• Always use protective eyewear. When shrapnel goes flying, goggles can be the difference between being blinded for life and walking away completely unharmed.
• Supervise young children at all times. Better still, keep children under age 12 away from all fireworks, even sparklers and firecrackers!

Here's a few more safety tips for using sparklers to celebrate this summer:

If There Is An Injury…

Sometimes accidents happen even when we follow all the rules. If you or anyone else you know sustains an eye injury, here are some steps to follow:

• Do not rub, rinse out, or apply pressure or ointment to the injured eye. Any of these will likely do even more damage.
• Go straight to the emergency room (don’t even pause for pain medication on the way). The sooner the eye receives treatment, the better its chances are for recovery.

Have A Blast (As Long As You’re Safe)!

We want you all to be safe as you celebrate this summer, but we also hope you have a great time with family, friends, food, and fireworks.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at www.visionsourcenw.com or call us at 604-553-3900.

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The Science Of Sunglasses

Have you ever wondered just what sunglasses do for your eyes, and how? It’s a little more complex than just dropping a dark filter over your vision.

Different Tints Do Different Things

Did you know that the color of your sunglasses’ lenses affects what they do for your eyes? This goes beyond just putting a color filter on your field of vision; different colours actually serve different purposes:

• Yellow and amber lenses are ideal for outdoor sports, particularly snow sports, as they filter out blue light, which may be harmful to your vision, and they reduce glare off the snow while improving contrast and depth perception.
• Rose and purple lenses increase contrast of objects against a blue or green background, which makes them great for hunting or water skiing.
• If you don’t want the colors you see to be altered by your lenses, you’ll probably prefer sunglasses with gray, black, or green lenses. Green lenses have the added benefit of filtering out blue light.

Glare Elimination With Polarized Lenses

Polarized lenses are particularly effective at getting rid of glare. Think of them as windows that have microscopic slats. Light can only enter from certain directions, so light bouncing off shiny or bright objects around you can’t get past the lenses!

A quick way to tell whether lenses are polarized or not is to hold them up to a light source and slowly rotate them to see if the light coming through changes. If it does, they’re polarized and will protect your eyes from glare!

Cheap Sunglasses Are Dangerous

A cheap pair of sunglasses might look cool and save you from having to squint your way through a sunny day, but you could actually be putting your eyes in more danger by wearing them than you would if you simply went without. You might think that as long as the sunglasses are dark enough, you’ll be fine from eye-damaging UV radiation. Not so!

What makes these sunglasses worse than no sunglasses at all is that the dark tint tricks your eyes into dropping their guard. You won’t squint and your pupils will dilate, letting in all those harmful rays that squinting and contracted pupils offer some protection against.

That’s where high-quality and prescription sunglasses come in. UV protection is one way you get what you pay for. Prescription sunglasses have it, and you can check the labels of non-prescription pairs to make sure they do. Only buy sunglasses that offer 99 to 100 percent UV protection or up to 400nm UV protection!

Any Questions?

Is there anything else you’d like to know about sunglasses, the protection they offer, and how to choose the right pair for you? Don’t hesitate to ask!

Wishing our patients an awesome summer!

Risks Associated With Sun Exposure

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an invisible component of sunlight that is most commonly known to cause sunburns and skin cancers. While some UV is filtered by the ozone layer, increasing amounts are reaching the earth as the ozone layer steadily diminishes. Because exposure to UV is cumulative, direct contact with sunlight for even short periods of time can cause several long-term eye health problems, many of which begin symptom-free.

To help reduce UV radiation damage to your eyes, consider the following tips:

• Beware of high sources of UV exposure in the workplace. The Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety indicates examples of workers at potential risk from exposure to UV radiation including outdoor workers, construction workers, paint and resin curers, plasma torch operators, welders, farmers, food and drink irradiators, hairdressers, laboratory workers, lighting technicians, lithographic and printing workers and police.
• Recognize sources of man-made ultraviolet radiation. Examples include various types of UV lamps, arc welding torches and mercury vapour lamps. In dental and medical practices, UV radiation can be used for killing bacteria, creating fluorescent effects, curing resins and phototherapy. Sun tanning booths also use UV radiation.
• Wear sunglasses, prescription or safety glasses with anti-UV coatings. Sunlight is by far the greatest source of UV radiation.

Exposure to its UVA and UVB rays, as well as man-made sources of UVC rays, can lead to long-term eye damage including:

• Age-related macular degeneration
• Cataracts
  • Eyelid skin cancer
  • Premature age spots around the eyes
  • Tissue growths on the surface of the eye including pinguecula and pterygium, of which the latter can encroach on the corneal axis

• If you wear corrective contact lenses, consider wearing UV-blocking contact lenses for an added layer of UV protection. Sunglasses are important, but aren’t always enough. Depending on the frame size, shape and position, as much as 45 per cent of UV rays can still reach the eyes of people wearing some sunglasses. Contact lenses with UV protection are an effective way to block light that gets in the sides and protects from harmful UV radiation reaching the cornea and into the eye. Not all contact lenses offer UV protection so check with your doctor of optometry to find out which ones are right for you.
• Recognize symptoms of UV eye damage, including immediate pain, inflammation of the cornea and an aversion to light. UV burns are commonly known as welder’s flash, snow blindness, ground-glass eyeball, or flash burn, depending on the UV source. Should you experience these symptoms, see your doctor of optometry right away.

While the symptoms listed above indicate eye damage caused by UV exposure, many long-term problems caused by UV exposure are symptom-free. To learn about the UV damage your eyes may already have, visit your doctor of optometry for a thorough eye examination.

Can Sunglasses Expire?

Lucky for you, it may be high time for a new pair of shades!

We’re surrounded by things with expiration dates, from the food in our fridge to the moisturizer we put on our face at night. Over time, the lightbulbs in our lamps go out and the paint on our houses fade. But what about your sunglasses? Do they have a shelf life?

Can Sunglasses Expire?

There are two kinds of people in this world: those that buy a new pair of sunglasses every year, maybe even several pairs, and those that find one good pair that they love and try to make them last. If you are part of the second group, you may want to listen up.

A study was recently conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil to see if sunglasses lost their UV-blocking power over time. As it turns out, everyday wear and tear of sunglasses–like throwing them in your bag without a case or accidentally dropping them on the ground–can cause scratches on the lenses that may be gradually diminishing their efficacy.

While this is an interesting finding, there is a lot more research needed to fully understand exactly how long sunglasses can last and what their “expiration date” may be. For now, we recommend that you continue to take good care of your sunglasses while you have them, and don’t hesitate to get a new pair every year or two. Not only will you always be in style, but you can be sure your eyes are properly protected from the sun!

Remember These Tips When Buying Sunglasses

Not all sunglasses are created equal. Some look stylish, but may not provide the same amount of protection as another pair. When you do buy a new pair of shades, you want to make sure they are serving their purpose, which is to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays!

Here are some tips to remember when buying sunglasses:

• Make sure they block 99 to 100 percent of UV light or have “UV absorption up to 400nm” on the label.
• Larger frames and wraparound styles are great at protecting your eyes from many different angles.
• Remember that the color and darkness of the lens doesn’t affect how well it protects you from UV rays. However, darker lenses can be more useful in very bright conditions.

We Have Just What You’re Looking For!

We have a variety of different styles and brands of sunglasses to choose from. Give us a call or visit us online and see for yourself! It would be a pleasure to help you find the perfect pair of shades for your style and personality.

We love to serve you! Thanks for trusting us with your vision health!