Each year, nearly 25,000 Americans visit the emergency room due to a workplace eye injury. During Workplace Eye Wellness Month this March, the American Academy of Ophthalmology reminds employers and workers about the importance of wearing certified and approved eye protection.
What are the Common Causes of Workplace Eye Injuries?
Common causes for eye injuries are:
- Flying objects (bits of metal, glass)
- Tools
- Particles
- Chemicals
- Harmful radiation
- Any combination of these or other hazards
What is my Best Defense Against an Eye Injury?
There are three things you can do to help prevent an eye injury:
- Know the eye safety dangers at work-complete an eye hazard assessment
- Eliminate hazards before starting work. Use machine guarding, work screens, or other engineering controls)v
- Use proper eye protection.
Eye injuries in the workplace are very common. More than 2,000 people injure their eyes at work each day. About 1 in 10 injuries require one or more missed workdays to recover from. Of the total amount of work-related injuries, 10-20 % will cause temporary or permanent vision loss. Experts believe that the right eye protection could have lessened the severity or even prevented 90% of eye injuries in accidents.
The month of March we’ll be looking at workplace eye wellness and how to avoid injuries!
For more helpful eye care and vision care tips, please visit our main blog page.
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