Keeping your eyes healthy and your vision top notch requires a multi-level approach. It’s clear that annual visits to your eye doctor are a high priority, but there are also other important considerations. As March marks Workplace Vision Wellness Month, it’s important to keep protective eyewear in-hand and on your face! With estimates as high as 800,000 workplace eye injuries per year in the United States, making the right eyewear choices for the task at hand will keep you safe and on the job.
Here are some key reasons you should think seriously about making sure safety eyewear is a part of your PPE at work.
- Over 40% of eye injuries in the workplace actually occurred while people were wearing eye protection – just the wrong type!
- Wearing the wrong eyewear can actually increase the likelihood of eye injury, so be sure you find the right eyewear for the job.
- Men, especially younger men, are among the most commonly injured.
- Estimates range widely from $300 million to over $1 billion in medical expenses, lost productivity, workers compensation and other costs per year due to on the job eye injuries.
- While many workers may work hard to prevent items from poking or sticking them in the eye, it is more common to have debris such as shavings, chips or dust cause an eye injury.
- Even though workplace eye injuries are declining slowly due to increased education and compliance, eye injuries from falls are on the rise.
- In addition to trauma and physical injury, some diseases can also be spread through the eyes, making the proper protection especially important for people working with blood or bodily fluids, or working in a healthcare environment.
Want to test your wits on eye safety? We have created a quiz that combines important facts about sports and workplace eye safety in one place.
