Did you know that about 2,000 U.S. workers experience a job-related eye injury every single day? In fact, nearly 1 million Americans have already lost some degree of their vision due to an eye injury. Work-related eye injuries not only occur in physically demanding jobs such as engineering or construction, but they may also occur in desk jobs.
March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month. Joel H. McGahen, OD, your trusted provider of eyeglasses and contact lenses, shares what employers can do to promote and improve eye wellness for everyone in the workplace.
Whether you are managing or supervising construction or an assembly line, you must know which tasks require low-, medium- and high-impact eye protection. For example, low-impact protection is appropriate for jobs that involve chipping or hammering. Thus, your workers may need safety glasses or goggles. Medium-impact protection is necessary for a job where workers grind materials or cut bricks. High-impact protection is for employees who use nail guns or handle chemicals.
While you can coordinate regular training sessions on eye safety for your workers, you may also want to promote regular eye examinations. Here, an optometrist will review the overall eye health of your employees and evaluate any changes to an individual’s vision. This is beneficial because it can also indicate underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension or other chronic illnesses. If possible, you may want to provide vision insurance, so your workers can have their eyes examined at least annually.
Don’t forget to remind your employees, especially those with a desk job, about the effects on their eyesight of staring at the computer screen for hours on end. Consider recommending making adjustments to protect their eye health. One helpful suggestion would be to turn down the screen brightness to minimize blue light. While it has some benefits, prolonged exposure to blue light may cause digital eye strain and retinal damage. Your employees may also want to reposition their work materials to between 20 to 26 inches from their eyes.
This March, encourage your employees to visit a professional eye doctor. For more inquiries regarding eye health, get in touch with Joel H. McGahen, OD. We offer quality services to residents in Chambersburg, PA, and the surrounding areas. Call us today at (717) 264-4012 or fill out our contact form to set an appointment.