In an effort to educate companies and their employees about the necessity of eye health, and to provide advice on how to avoid vision-threatening eye mishaps, Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has set aside March as Workplace Vision Wellness Month.
Each day, employees sustain job related eye injuries that require medical attention. Workplace safety experts and doctors say that the two most prevalent reasons that workers get eye injuries is because they fail to shield their eyes or they are taking the wrong sorts of safety precautions.
The most frequent dangers present in the workplace include flying particles or falling objects such as wood, metal, dust or concrete that can enter or cut the eye. Chemicals, gases and radiation can also scorch and seriously injure the eyes.
Protection for your Eyes
An eye care professional can assist you to evaluate possible eye hazards at your workplace and decide on the best type of eye protection for you.
Often, workplaces have multiple risks for eyes and using proper eye protection needs to take all potential dangers into account.
If you work with chemicals you should wear goggles, and if you work in a place where you encounter flying objects or particles, choose safety glasses with side shields.
Working in close proximity to hazardous radiation when welding, working with lasers, or fiber optics calls for the use of special-purpose safety glasses, goggles, face shields, or helmets designed just for this sort of work.
Healthy Screen Vision
Those who spend a large portion of their day working at the computer or using hand held devices are also at increased risk of discomfort such as blurred vision, headaches and eye strain. Because of the increase in the use of computers in everyday life, these dangers are becoming increasingly prevalent.
Below are some helpful suggestions to avoid eye strain and visual discomfort when using hand held devices or working on a computer:
Try to maintain the 20-20-20 rule which will help your eyes rest. At every 20 minute interval look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. If you're using a hand-held device, increase the font size so you can use it at a distance better for your eyes.
Also keep the brightness of your screen to a resolution that is not too bright or too dim and position your monitor right under eye level to be less of a strain on your eyes. You may also want to consider purchasing computer glasses.
If you think that you may be in danger 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!