Mechanical ocular trauma.

Mechanical ocular trauma remains a leading cause of visual loss and blindness and often affects young individuals. Approximately 75% of people with trauma-induced visual impairment are monoculary blind. Furthermore, the human, social, and economic consequences of eye injuries are enormous in all parts of the world. Because most eye injuries are preventable, efforts could be spent much more effectively on preventing eye injuries rather than treating them. It is important to make the public aware of the benefits of using protective equipment, which is almost universally available, and was the main concern of most of the authors reporting on ocular trauma in the past year. Of great importance seems to be the introduction of an international standardized classification of ocular trauma.