June Firework Safety and Cataract Awareness Month

Each month, several observances are dedicated to celebrations, causes, or raising awareness about a particular topic, such as mold awareness month in September or jazz appreciation month in April. Today, we are talking about two very serious issues focused on in June, both concerning your eyes. These topics are Cataract Awareness Month and Firework Safety Month, which are in June. Cataracts is an eye condition that causes someone to lose their sight, and fireworks cause several eye injuries each year. Read more below to learn how to prevent cataracts and what you can do to stay safe this 4th of July.

Cataract Awareness Month

In the United States, cataracts is one of the leading causes of blindness. If cataracts aren’t treated, it becomes more difficult to restore vision by removing the cataracts. Cataracts is a common affliction for people over 40 years of age, but not a lot of people know that newborns can have cataracts due to pregnancy complications. The CDC estimates that there are around 30 million people in the United States who suffer from cataracts, but cataracts are highly treatable with a surgery that has a 95% success rate. However, many people don’t realize they have that option due to a lack of awareness and knowledge about how easy it is to treat cataracts.

Symptoms of cataracts, many people have trouble with driving and reading; they may have blurry vision, see faded colors, and see halos around lights. They may not be able to see well at night, have frequent changes in prescription glasses, and have sensitivity to light.

There’s no one cause for cataracts, but they include:

• older age
• genetic influences
• smoking
• eye injuries

Firework Safety Month

With the 4th of July right around the corner, many people plan their celebratory activities, which often include fireworks and sparklers. According to Forbes, firework-related injuries in 2020 sent over 15,000 people to the emergency room between June 21st and July 21st. It’s estimated that 15% of those injuries are to their eyes.

If you injure your eye while interacting with fireworks, it’s essential to seek medical attention immediately. It’s recommended that you don’t apply pressure to the eye, rinse out the eye, or rub the eye for any reason, as it will only make it worse. Leaving the fireworks to the professionals is the safest way to celebrate and practice good eye safety.

At Advanced Eyecare of Chino Optometry, we care about your eyes so let us help you take care of them. Contact us today to schedule an appointment to prevent vision issues like cataracts.