March is Workplace Vision Wellness Month, says Prevent Blindness American (PBA). The aim of this initiative is to teach companies and their employees about the importance of eye wellness, including safety tips on how to avoid vision-threatening eye mishaps.

Every day, workers sustain job related eye injuries that demand medical attention. Safety experts and healthcare professionals believe the two most prevalent reasons that people get eye injuries is because they don't wear anything to shield their eyes or they are taking the wrong sorts of safety precautions.

Common Kinds of Eye Injuries The most common hazards found in the work environment include airborne particles or falling objects such as building or craft materials that can penetrate or cause abrasions on the eye. Chemical sprays, gases and lasers can also burn and injure the eye tissues.

Keeping your Eyes Protected

Your optometrist is trained to help you determine possible eye hazards at your workplace and judge the optimal kind of eye safety for you.

Often, working conditions possess multiple dangers and using the best eye protection must take all potential risks into consideration.
People working with chemicals must wear goggles, while if you work in a place where there are flying objects or particles, use safety glasses that have shields along the sides too.
For those who work near hazardous radiation when welding, using lasers, or fiber optics demands the use of special-purpose safety glasses, goggles, face shields, or helmets designed especially for this sort of work.

Healthy Screen Vision

Working at computers or using mobile and hand held devices like phones or readers can also be dangerous for your eyes.

Here are a few ways to avoid putting your eyes under unnecessary pressure when using hand held devices or working on a computer:

Utilize the 20-20-20 rule which will allow your eyes periodic rest. Every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break and have a look at something 20 feet away. If you're using a hand-held device, make the font bigger so you can use it at a distance better for your eyes.

In addition try to maintain the light intensity of your monitor to a comfortable resolution and position your monitor right under eye level to reduce any pressure on your eyes. You should also speak to your eye doctor about computer glasses.

If you have further questions relating to eye safety at work, please give us a call today!