Eye injury eye-opener – number of boys on the rise

3 Mar 2009

The number of young boys admitted to hospital for serious eye injuries has close to doubled in the last ten years.

And its boys aged between three to nine years old who are most at risk.

The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and the Orthoptic Association of Australia have joined together to raise awareness of the prevention of eye injuries in children as part of Orthoptic Awareness week from March 9 – 13.

Orthoptists are allied health care workers who specialise in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of vision disorders and work closely with ophthalmic surgeons to monitor and manage eye conditions.

Manager of the Orthoptics Department at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and President of the Orthoptic Association of Australia Associate Professor Zoran Georgievski said everyday orthoptists are working with children who have had an eye injury to assess how the child’s vision has been affected and work towards rehabilitation.

“Unfortunately boys will be boys. They will take more risks and consequently end up in hospital more often. But we would prefer if this wasn’t the case.”

While the number of boys admitted to the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital for eye injuries over the past ten years has risen, the overall number of children admitted has stayed the same with the number of girls dropping significantly.

Director of the Emergency Department at the Eye and Ear Hospital Dr Carmel Crock said one of the reasons children are prone to eye injuries is that they are still developing coordination.

“Sharp pointed objects such as pens, nails, knives and scissors are the most common culprits but injuries from these objects can be prevented with supervision.”

“Accidents tend to occur around the home, both outdoors and indoors, with the hours between 4pm and 6pm being a common time for them to happen.”

Mary-Jo Breasley from Pakenham, Victoria, knows all to well how quickly things can go wrong.

It was Christmas Day in 2004 and her then 6 year-old son Sam was doing what kids all over Australia were doing – excitedly opening presents.

He came across a particularly tough one to open and so ran to get some scissors. Something happened as he was trying to open the present with the scissors and they ended up in his eye.

Sam was taken straight to his local hospital but they recommended he really needed to be seen by specialists at the Eye and Ear Hospital.

Christmas was put on hold for Sam and his family as he was rushed into surgery to try and save the sight in that eye.

Luckily doctors were able to save most of his sight.

Four years on and Ms Breasley said she is so happy with the outcome.

“I didn’t know just how serious eye injuries in children could be. Even now Sam has to wear glasses and go back to the doctor regularly. But I am just so happy – the outcome could have been a lot worse.”

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