Did you know that falls are the leading cause of
injury related emergency room visits
among people over 65 years old? Recently researchers studied how often seniors
falling resulted in eye injury-especially eye injury that might have been
overlooked as part of their hospital visit. They reviewed records from 270
patient visits of patients with an average age of 81 years old. 180 patients
presenting in the emergency room from this group had fallen. Of these 155
patients were found to have an orbital fracture-the boney structures around the
eye! In addition there were many other serious eye injuries including eye globe
ruptures, hemorrhages behind the eye and retinal detachment. The message is
clear. Falls in older people may be associated with sight-threatening ocular
injuries which are common and easy to miss in this population demographic. It
is important to have a thorough eye exam after what might even be considered a
minor fall. More important, it is
critical to create safe environments for seniors and to tend to those sight
threatening senior eye problems-such as cataracts-to help avoid lost mobility
and increased risk of falls!
If you or someone you know is a over 65, please schedule regular eye exams for common senior eye problems such as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration (AMD) so you can maintain eye health and vision-and reduce your risk of falls! Schedule an eye exam at D’Ambrosio Eye Care at 800-325-3937, visit D’Ambrosio Eye Care, or Facebook so that we can help.
D'Ambrosio Eye Care provides eye care for patients throughout greater Boston, central and western Massachusetts with office locations at 479 Old Union Turnpike, Lancaster, Massachusetts 01523, 865 Merriam Avenue, Suite 119, Leominster, Massachusetts 01453, 100 Powder Mill Road, Acton, Massachusetts 01720, 413 Main Street, Athol, Massachusetts 01331, 74 Main Street, Gardner, Massachusetts 01440 and 255 Park Avenue, Suite 606, Worcester, Massachusetts 01609.
