March is Workplace Vision Wellness Month, says Prevent Blindness American (PBA). The aim of this initiative is to educate corporations and their workers about the necessity of eye wellness, including advice on how to prevent vision-threatening eye mishaps.
Each day, employees are inflicted by workplace related eye injuries that demand the attention of an eye care professional or doctor. Safety experts and healthcare professionals say that the two most common reasons that people sustain eye injuries is either because they fail to use anything to shield their eyes or they are taking the wrong sorts of safety precautions.
Construction, manufacturing, mining, carpentry, car and truck repair, electrical work, plumbing, metal welding and general maintenance are all high risk occupations for eye injuries.
Protection for your Eyes
Your eye care professional is trained to assist you to determine potential eye dangers at work and judge the optimal kind of eye safety for you.
Sometimes workplaces have multiple risks for eyes and using the right eye protection needs to take all potential dangers into account.
If you work with chemicals you should wear goggles, while if you work in a place where you encounter airborne objects or particles, use safety glasses that have shields along the sides too.
For those who work in close proximity to hazardous radiation when welding, working with lasers, or fiber optics requires the use of special-purpose safety glasses, protective goggles with a face shield, or helmets made specifically for what you will be doing.
Eye Safety with Screens
Those who spend a large portion of their day working on computers or using mobile devices are also at 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 ways to prevent eye strain and visual discomfort when working on a computer or using a hand held device:
Try to maintain the 20-20-20 rule which will allow your eyes periodic 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'll be able to use it at a distance more gentle for your eyes.
In addition adjust the light intensity of your screen to a comfortable resolution and position your screen right under eye level to pose less of a strain on your eyes. You should also speak to your eye doctor about computer glasses.
For more information concerning protecting your vision at your workplace, please give us a call today!