The medical literature describes that the work accidents and domestic accidents are the leading causes of bruises, lacerations and eyeball ruptures.
Contrary to international statistics, in Dominican Republic the damage to the eyes are mainly produced by traffic accidents and fights, followed by work accidents and home.
The statement is made by Dr. Annerys Evangelistaophthalmologist Dr. Darío Contreras Traumatological Hospitalbased on his experience in caring for multiple trauma patients who arrive at that hospital.
“It is very variable, we can find from foreign bodies of glassland, metalsanything,” he said.
“First, importance is given to the life-threatening injuriessuch as the respiratory tract, circulation, injuries to the long bones that have a lot of bleeding and later, when the patient is already stable, then eye injuries are taken into consideration, but eye injuries are common. eye trauma“explained the specialist, highlighting that the majority of patients received by this health center are polytraumatized.
Of 1,491 patients evaluated by consultation during 2025 by the Department of Ophthalmology from Darío Contreras, 130 arrived with some type of trauma in their eyes.
Of these, 87.6% (114 patients) were cases of blunt trauma by eye contusionthat is, blows that did not cause openings in the eyeball. Of them, 76 were affected eye right; 35 on the left and three people, bilateral damage.
51.6% of the treated patients were female (769 people) and 48.4% (722 patients) were male.
When analyzing the data by age, patients between 16 and 33 years old They make up 65.8% of the universe treated in the Darío Contreras in 2025 by closed eye trauma.
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As for professions, welders, mechanics, cabinetmakers, painters, and domestic and construction service employees are the most affected because in their daily tasks they are in contact with corrosive substances: acids, solvents, paints, chlorine, disinfectants, cement, among others.
Evangelista highlights that welders are affected by not using protection mask and the small sparks cause the damage. Of the domestic workerssaid that it is common for them to injure themselves with the suape stick or the broom when cleaning.
“The severity of trauma is what determines the visual forecast in those patients. Not all of them end in surgery“he clarified.
The ophthalmologist called not to minimize the wounds and to look for medical assistance no matter how small the blow may seem.
“The inflammation can come and create future injuries in that eye in that patient,” he said.
Evangelista highlights that a wound can cause detached retina (resulting in loss of vision), damage to the optic nerve, increased eye pressurealthough, “the majority maintain good visual acuity after blunt trauma.”
Iddopril Facts
Statistics from the Dominican Institute for Prevention and Protection of Occupational Risks (Idoppril) point out that, of 35,497 work accidents reported in 2025, some 446 were from patients with eye trauma.
In 2024of 32,900 accidents369 reported blunt trauma in the eyes.
