Elder Care in Turnersville, NJ
It is often said that you only get one pair of eyes so you should take care of them. In keeping with that sentiment, take the opportunity this October to integrate taking care of your parents’ eyes and protecting them from injury during Home Eye Safety Month.
Each year a staggering Americans sustain in excess of 2.5 million eye injuries. Of those suffering those injuries, more than 50,000 of them will experience permanent vision loss related to the injury. A high percentage of those injuries occur right in the home, and fortunately there are ways that you can help protect your seniors from suffering those injuries in the first place, or help to minimize the lingering effect of the injuries if they do occur.
Use these tips, and share them with your parents’ elderly health care services provider, to help you protect your aging loved ones’ eyes:
• Eye protection. Your first line of defense against eye injury in the home is proper eye protection. Any time your aging loved ones are doing a project or activity that has risk of flying debris, make sure that they are wearing appropriate eye protection goggles. These activities could include using a saw or other power tools, welding, using lawn trimmers or mowers, or cleaning with potentially dangerous chemicals.
• Post instructions. Contact the Prevent Blindness America organization to receive a sticker that lists instructions for how to handle eye emergencies so you can post these in the home to provide quick reference in the event of such an emergency. The organization recommends posting these instructions on the inside of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.
• Know how to handle burns. If a chemical splashes into the eye, it can cause burns that can severely damage the eye. If this happens, immediately rinse out the eye for at least 15 minutes. Do not bandage the eye and seek immediate medical attention. If your parents wear contact lenses, leave the lens in during the flushing and allow it to rinse out on its own.
• Know how to handle speck debris. If your aging loved one gets a speck such as sawdust or metal shavings in his eye, do not permit him to rub it. Encourage him to blink to produce extra tears that can wash out the speck. If this does not work, rinse the eye until the speck comes out. If after 15 minutes the speck has not come out, lightly bandage the eye and seek medical attention.
• Know how to handle punctures or cuts. If an accident has caused something to puncture, cut, or impale the eye, do not attempt to wash it or remove the object sticking out of the eye. If you can, create a rigid shield around the eye, but do not apply any pressure to the eye, the surrounding area, or the object sticking out of it. Seek immediate medical attention.
• Know how to handle blows. If something hits your loved one in the eye, immediately apply a cold compress but do not apply pressure. If the injury is painful or there is discoloration of the eye or the surrounding area, it could indicate more serious internal eye damage. Seek medical attention.
For all of your elder care needs in Turnersville, NJ and the surrounding areas call and talk to us at Home to Stay Healthcare Solutions (856) 321-1500.
