The human eye is our window on the world, but disease and injury often conspire to obstruct the view. Fortunately, every person can take basic precautions that will substantially reduce these threats to eyesight.

Eye injuries are very common, and often occur in the home as a result of hazards such as exposure to chemicals, contamination with debris during yard work, accidents during sports and mishaps while playing with toys. Eye injuries also frequently occur in the workplace, and during sports.

Many of these accidents are easily preventable. For example, wearing protective eyewear could eliminate the vast majority of sports-related eye injuries in the United States. Protective eye gear can also shield the eyes from branches, flying stones, car-battery acid and other threats that lurk during day-to-day activities.

Be sure to choose the proper protective gear for the task at hand. Sunglasses with ultraviolet protection can shield the eyes from the sun’s harmful rays, but are virtually worthless in protecting the eyes when a person is using a blowtorch.

Good hygiene also can reduce the risk of injury to the eyes. Regular handwashing helps prevent transferring contaminants from the fingers to the eyes. Also, follow your ophthalmologist’s basic instructions for wearing and cleaning contact lenses. For example, you should only use commercial contact lens solution when cleaning and storing their lenses. Using tap water, salt water or bottled water for this purpose can result in eye infections.