In order to enlighten businesses and their employees about the importance of eye wellness, and to provide advice on how to avoid vision-endangering eye incidents, Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has marked the month of March as Workplace Vision Wellness Month.
Each day, employees suffer from workplace related eye injuries that need medical attention. Safety experts and healthcare professionals believe the two most common reasons that employees experience eye injuries is either because they fail to shield their eyes or they are using the wrong kind of eye protection.
Construction, factory work, mining, woodwork, car and truck repair, electrical work, plumbing, metal welding and general maintenance are all high risk occupations for eye injuries.
Keeping your Eyes Protected
An optometrist can help you determine potential eye dangers at your workplace and determine the optimal sort of eye protection for you.
Often, working conditions possess multiple dangers and using the right eye protection must take all potential risks into consideration.
If you work with chemicals you should wear goggles, while if you work in an area where you encounter flying objects or particles, use safety glasses that have shields along the sides too.
Working near dangerous radiation when welding, using lasers, or fiber optics calls for the use of special-purpose safety glasses, goggles, face shields, or helmets made specifically for this sort of work.
Healthy Screen Vision
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.
Here are some suggestions to avoid putting your eyes under unnecessary pressure when working on a computer or using a hand held device:
Utilize the 20-20-20 rule which will allow your eyes periodic rest. Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. If using a hand-held device, make the font bigger so you'll be able to use it at a distance more gentle for your eyes.
In addition try to maintain the brightness 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 environment don't delay! Give us a call to discuss the hazards and solutions for a lifetime of eye and vision health!
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