To enlighten businesses and their employees about the necessity of eye health, and to spread advice on how to prevent vision-threatening eye mishaps, Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has marked March as Workplace Vision Wellness Month.
Every day, workers sustain job related eye injuries that demand medical attention. Workplace safety experts and doctors believe the two most prevalent reasons that employees get eye injuries is because they fail to use anything to shield their eyes or they are taking the wrong sorts of safety measures.
Common Kinds of Eye Injuries
The most frequent dangers in the work environment include small particles or falling objects such as wood, metal, dust or concrete that can enter or cause abrasions on the eye. Chemicals, fumes and radiation can also scorch and injure the delicate eye tissues.
Protecting your Eyes
Your eye care professional will assist you to identify possible eye dangers at your workplace and determine the best kind of eye protection for you.
Often, working conditions have multiple risks for eyes and finding proper eye protection should consider all possible risks.
People working with chemicals should wear goggles, and if you work in an environment where you encounter falling objects or dust, pick safety glasses that have shields along the sides too.
For those who work in close proximity to dangerous radiation when welding, using lasers, or fiber optics calls for the use of special-purpose safety glasses, protective goggles with a face shield, or helmets made especially for what you will be doing.
Eye Safety with Screens
Working on computers or using mobile and hand held devices can also be harmful for your vision. Because of the increase in the use of computers in everyday life, these dangers are becoming increasingly prevalent.
Here are some helpful suggestions to prevent putting your eyes under unnecessary pressure when using hand held devices or working on a computer:
Implement the 20-20-20 rule which will help your eyes rest. At least every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. If using a hand-held device, increase the font size so you can use it at a distance more gentle for your eyes.
In addition keep the light intensity of your screen to a comfortable resolution and position your screen just below eye level to reduce any pressure on your eyes. You should also speak to your eye doctor about computer glasses.
If you think that you may be at risk of any eye or vision damage due to your work don't delay! Give us a call to discuss the hazards and solutions for a lifetime of eye and vision health!