The broom – perfect for its purpose

One of the first chores I learnt while growing up in an African setting was sweeping with a broom. The broom, made from the skeleton of  dried palm fronds held firmly with a rubber band, is usually quite effective in ensuring that the floor is devoid of dirt. However, trouble can come calling when we invent new duties for it such as a tool for punishment or a toy. Eye injuries from broomsticks can occur in these circumstances.

The problem with brooms

The broom is a collection of sharp broomsticks which can pick up all sorts of microorganisms in the course of sweeping. This makes it a potential source of infection if it gets into the wrong place, such as the eye. In the event of an eye injury from broomstick, these noxious organisms can penetrate the eye, ultimately causing severe infection.

How things can go wrong with the broom

Eye injuries from broomsticks can have really dire consequences. The management of this grim condition may require numerous medications and sophisticated surgical interventions. The visual prognosis may also be very poor.

Once, in my eye clinic, we managed a young boy who came in with severe pain and poor vision in both eyes. He had sustained injuries to both eyes from being beaten with a broom at home. The infection was so severe that he subsequently lost vision in one eye. He can barely navigate with his better eye despite medical and surgical interventions.

Another young child was brought to the emergency unit on account of a broomstick injury to one eye. He had been playing with friends who had improvised a catapult with a rubber band and broomstick. Unfortunately, this resulted in his eye inadvertently becoming a target!

A word of advice

One can prevent the unholy association of the broomstick and the eye by not using the broom as a tool to exert discipline or as a toy. Use the broom strictly for what it is meant for – sweeping.

Dr Fumbi Adeboye is an Ophthalmologist. She works at the Univeristy College Hospital, Ibadan.