It’s Workplace Eye Safety Awareness Month! Did you know that there are many ways you can injure your eyes or damage your overall eye health while at work? About one-third of all on the job eye injuries must be treated at the emergency room, and result in one or more days away from work—and most, if not all, of those injuries are preventable with the proper safety gear.
Let’s discuss 10 Simple Rules that you can remember that will vastly improve your odds of avoiding permanent eye damage while on the job!
1. Eliminate hazards before starting work by using machine guards, work screens, or other engineering controls.
2. Always wear appropriate safety eyewear, even if you are just passing through a potentially hazardous area. These include:
- Non-prescription and prescription safety glasses
- Goggles
- Face shields
- Welding helmets
- Full-face respirators
3. If you’re working in an area with lots of particles or dust, be sure to wear safety goggles with side shields to protect against foreign objects from entering your eyes.
4. Always wear safety goggles or face shields when working with chemicals to protect against splashing.
5. When woking around hazardous radiation like welding, fiber optics, and lasers, be sure to use specially designed safety goggles and helmets that are made especially for such tasks.
6. Keep safety eye wear in good condition and replace when necessary.
7. In an office environment, place your screen 20-26 inches away from your eyes, and slightly below eye level.
8. Adjustable chairs, monitors, and keyboards will allow you to customize your workspace to the best angles for comfortable viewing for you.
9. Take frequent breaks by using the “20-20-20” Rule as recommended by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Optometric Association. Every 20 minutes, look away from your screen and focus on an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
10. Use glare filters on your digital screens, and change your lighting to lower glare and harsh reflections. Anti-reflective and blue light lenses are also good measures you can take to protect your vision.
If you’re a business owner, remember that The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to ensure the safety of all employees in the work environment. Make sure that your employees have the proper gear to protect their eyes and keep them safe!