Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has marked the month of March as Workplace Vision Wellness Month. The purpose of this initiative is to teach businesses and their employees about the relevance of vision health, with safety tips on how to prevent vision-endangering eye incidents.
Every day, employees are inflicted by job related eye injuries that need the attention of an eye care professional or doctor. Workplace safety experts and doctors believe the two main reasons that employees experience eye injuries is either because they don't wear anything to shield their eyes or they are using the wrong form of eye protection.
High risk occupations for eye accidents include building, manufacturing, mining, carpentry, car and truck repair, electrical work, plumbing, welding and maintenance.
Protection for your Eyes
An eye care professional can help you evaluate potential eye hazards at work and judge the optimal sort of eye safety for you.
Sometimes working conditions have multiple dangers and finding proper eye protection should consider all possible risks.
People working with chemicals must wear goggles, and if you work in an area where you encounter airborne objects or dust, use safety glasses with shields along the sides too.
Working near hazardous radiation when welding, using lasers, or fiber optics calls for the use of special-purpose safety glasses, goggles, face shields, or helmets designed just for what you will be doing.
Eye Safety with Screens
Working with computers or using mobile devices like phones or readers can also be unsafe for your eyes.
Here are a few tips to avoid eye strain and visual discomfort when using hand held devices or working on a computer:
Learn the 20-20-20 rule which will allow your eyes periodic rest. At least every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. If using a mobile device, make the font bigger so you can use it at a distance more gentle for your eyes.
Additionally maintain the brightness of your screen to a resolution that is not too bright or too dim and position your monitor just below eye level to reduce any pressure on your eyes. You should also consider the option of computer glasses.
For more information relating to vision care in the workplace, please give us a call today!