Eye Health and Safety at Work

March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month, which makes it a great time to discuss eye safety on the job.

That will mean very different things depending on your line of work. A manual labor job can present a lot of direct dangers to eye safety, while an office-type job is more likely to cause a lot of eye strain.

Preventing Eye Injuries on a Worksite

Jobs in trades like welding, carpentry, mining, construction, and even lab work can mean being surrounded by eye hazards. Eye injuries are so common in these fields that as many as 2,000 workers require medical treatment for them every single day. Let’s work on cutting down those numbers.

90% of eye injuries are preventable if the right safety measures and equipment are used. That means not neglecting safety goggles, glasses, a full-face respirator, or a face shield, depending on what’s appropriate for the profession. It could mean the difference between losing your eyesight and just having a normal day on the job!

Keeping Your Eyes Healthy and Happy in an Office Setting

With office jobs, there isn’t usually as high of a risk of projectiles, sparks, or chemicals flying around near the eyes, but there is a serious risk of developing digital eye strain (otherwise known as computer vision syndrome) from all the hours staring at a computer screen. Symptoms of digital eye strain include dry eye, discomfort, neck pain, back strain, more frequent headaches, and lower attentiveness and productivity.

Digital eye strain isn’t associated with long-term damage to vision or eye health, but it can make everyday activities more difficult, as it leaves the eyes irritated and tired and makes it more difficult to focus on tasks. Luckily, there are a few easy ways to minimize it.

Fighting Eye Strain

Eye strain doesn’t require equipment like face shields or goggles, though computer glasses can be helpful by blocking out blue light. Anti-glare screens also help. The simplest step anyone can take against it, however, is following the 20-20-20 rule. All it takes is a 20-second break from looking at the screen every 20 minutes and focusing on something at least 20 feet away.

Bring Us Your Workplace Eye Safety Concerns

We’re here to answer our patients’ (current or future!) questions about eye safety, and we look forward to your next eye exam. We want to make sure you have the information you need to protect your eyes, and we’d love to see you if it’s been a while since your last appointment.

Don’t forget to give your eyes the love they deserve!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.