Children’s Toys That Can Damage Their Vision
Dangerous toys represent an ongoing concern for many parents. No one wants to spoil his or her child’s fun through toy prohibition, but the need to prioritize safety is one of the necessities of being a parent. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) recently published a few articles warning about certain toy categories, and while we don’t want to scare or alarm anyone, we found their claims worthy of bringing to parents’ attention. Eye damage can happen quite easily, and as any parent knows, children can be careless while they’re at play. To do our part in keeping children from coming to us with eye-related injuries, we’re discussing three toy types that the AAO strongly suggests parents either closely monitor or avoid altogether.
Projectile-Firing Toys
The most obvious items in this category are toy guns, but a lot of action figures and other miscellaneous toys fire projectiles as well. Certain toy brands offer foam darts with varying levels of softness, leading some consumers to falsely believe that they’re completely safe. However, toy guns and the like are no joke; the AAO warns specifically against buying them at all, stating that “projectiles can cause serious eye injuries” like “eye scrapes, bleeding, cataracts, increased eye pressure and permanent vision loss.” We’ve all heard that BB guns, which are confusingly marketed primarily towards children, can make you “shoot your eye out,” but many of us don’t realize that more innocent-seeming toys can damage your eyes as well.
- Laser Pointers
Anyone who’s had one of these things shining directly into their eye knows that laser pointers cause temporary vision impairment, and although the effects are usually fleeting, it’s terrifying in the moment. A sufficiently powerful laser can cause serious damage to the skin, and a good rule of thumb is to keep anything that might burn your skin far away from your eyes. While properly functioning toy lasers shouldn’t be nearly powerful enough to damage your skin, they do exist on that same spectrum, and your eyes are far more sensitive than your skin. The AAO reports that “about 60% of the sampled laser pointer products that the FDA tests are overpowered compared with what the label says,” and we doubt that any parent likes those odds. Unfortunately (but understandably), this can be a popular toy to sneak into classrooms, so as we resume the school year, make sure your child knows to never shine one into their or anyone else’s eyes.
Under the supervision of a trained ophthalmologist, in a controlled, clinical environment, the lasers used for LASIK surgery do wonders for people’s vision every day. However, giving a child a powered-down version of a tool that we use for eye surgery is comparable to letting them play with a dull scalpel.
- Aerosol Party String
Many parents are already happy to keep this messy, irritating party toy far away from their carpet. The chemicals in these types of products can cause serious eye irritation and a type of pink eye called chemical conjunctivitis. Furthermore, the fact that aerosol party string seems harmless makes people likely to use it more carelessly than they otherwise might. It’s a good idea to keep any sort of aerosol can away from children, as many of them emit hazardous chemicals, often at high velocities that can damage the eyes on their own.
In the end, you’ll be the best judge of what your child should and shouldn’t play with. Anything with pointed edges, pieces smaller than an eye’s diameter, or harmful chemicals can potentially cause eye damage, so use common sense and your knowledge of your child’s behavioral tendencies to guide you amid the toy store shelves.
Dr. Ray Deeb and Dr. Ashley Brown provide comprehensive healthcare for newborns and children up to the age of 18, and they are currently accepting new patients. If you would like to learn more about us, please come in for a complimentary meet-and-greet so that you can talk in person with Dr. Deeb or Dr. Brown and get a tour of our newly renovated office. Contact Briarcliff Pediatrics to schedule an appointment, and don’t forget to follow us on social media to get the latest health tips and news in children’s health care.
