March is “Workplace Eye Wellness Month”! Here are some tips and tricks to use at your workplace to ensure you and taking the best care of your eyes!
Digital Eye Strain
Due to the increase of digital screen time from people working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, employers and employees should be aware of the added strain it’s been putting on your eyes!
Symptoms of digital eye strain, also called “computer vision syndrome” includes dry, itching, burning and tired eyes. It can also include blurry vision and headaches. But don’t despair there are several things you can do to minimize the effects of digital eye strain. The Prevent Blindness organization recommends the following to help reduce eye strain:
- Be sure your computer screen is placed at least 20-26 inches away from your eye and a little bit lower than your eye level but not so much that your head is tilted down. That leads to a host of other issues with your posture!
- Be sure to use a document holder placed next to your screen to avoid swinging your head back and forth or up and down.
- Lower your lighting to avoid glare on your screen or place a glare filter over your screen.
- Use an adjustable chair
- Choose a monitor or screen that can swivel or tilt to help minimize eye and head adjustments
- Use Blue Light Blocking glasses (yellow tint) to help reduce digital eye strain by increasing contrast
- Anti-reflective lenses help to reduce glare and increase contrast
- Take frequent breaks using the 20-20-20 rule! Every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds!
Prevent Blindness has also started a new awareness campaign called Screen Time-out to educate consumers on the effects of increased screen time, and encourage the public to introduce regular screen breaks into their daily routines.
Eye Protection
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires employers to ensure the safety of all employees in the work environment. Employers are required to make certain workers wear and use face and eye protection in the construction and manufacturing industries. Every day nearly 2,000 employees are injured in the workplace, requiring medical treatment. About a third of these injuries are treated in hospital emergency departments and results in more than one or more days of work loss.
Eye Safety Wear Protection includes:
- Either non-prescription or prescription safety glasses
- Goggles
- Face shields or welding helmets
- Full face respirators
Productive work includes healthy vision and an independent quality of life. Prevent Blindness makes your eyes their priority by helping to maintain healthy eyesight and healthy eyesight and lifestyle choices. To download shareable social media graphics on workplace eye wellness or from the Screen Time-out campaign, visit preventblindness.org/infographics-archive/.
For more helpful eye care and vision care tips, please visit our main blog page.
Sources: preventblindness.org
Image by Lukas Bieri from Pixabay