Sanding floors, drilling holes, insulating the loft. Whether you’re new to DIY tasks like these or you are a seasoned odd-jobber, taking care of your eyes is an essential consideration.
The potential for eye injury when carrying out do-it-yourself jobs is significant.
According to The Eyecare Trust: “The most common eye injuries among adults are caused by flying chips of wood or metal. It is therefore essential that appropriate eye protection is worn. Be careful when chiselling or hammering and when drilling into masonry, sanding wood, removing plaster, splitting tiles or concrete slabs, stripping paint, sawing, welding, laying insulation and painting ceilings. Take special care when grinding, hammering and polishing. These generate small, high velocity particles which can penetrate an unprotected eye.”
Simply wearing your normal pair of glasses just won’t cut it!
Patrick & Menzies Partner and Dispensing Optician Dan Edwards explained: “To protect your eyes from dust and larger debris you need to wear safety goggles. These should fit snug to your face.
“We can make prescription safety glasses if you are an avid DIYer. Most people though can simply pick up a pair of safety goggles from their DIY store for just a few pounds. These can fit over your glasses and are an essential investment to protect your eyes from injury.
“Even though it’s such an easy way to protect your eyes, you often see people who are doing DIY wearing ear defenders but no goggles. It really doesn’t make sense!”
You still need to take care even if you are wearing safety goggles. Accidents commonly occur when people remove the protection to take a closer look at the progress they’ve made. It’s much better to leave your goggles in place until the task is complete.
If an accident does happen
If you do suffer from minor irritation, maybe from lingering sawdust or other small particles in the air, rinse your eye well with cold water – not hot. Then visit your local pharmacy where you will be able to buy eye wash to ease the discomfort.
Should you get a suspect foreign body in your eye contact your optician as soon as possible. According to NHS guidelines, you should be seen within 24 hours. If it’s really painful or maybe on a Sunday or Bank Holiday when your branch is closed, call 111 for advice on your next steps.