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Eye Safety and Eyewear

Eye Safety and Eyewear

When it comes to matters of the eyes, there can be no denying that eye safety is a paramount issue and this is why people can invest a lot in the best eyewear. Every day, we are exposed to things that are potentially harmful to our eyes and can cause damage to them. As such, we are obligated to ensure that whatever we do, we keep our eyes safe and free from harm.

How to Keep Your Eyes Safe

Danger is always looming around the corner, and even though you may be an apple a day kind of person, there are some things that you cannot prevent from happening. Take, for example, wind blowing against your face, carrying small dust particles along with it. Who is to say that having had a proper diet that day will protect your eyes from harm?

The following are some sure eye safety tips to help you maintain adequate protection for your eyes from different factors to ensure you literally see another day:

 

1.    In the Workplace and At Home

Are you aware that in the U.S alone, over 2000 eye injuries occur in the workplace every day? Of all this, about 69% is due to the dangers of objects in flight. And to make matters worse, most of these hazardous objects are actually smaller than a pin’s head.

eye safety

Closer investigation of these accidents has revealed that about 62% of all workplace eye injuries are due to the neglect of eyewear; this is because the regalia is “not required” or has been made optional to the workers. Other eye injuries are due to the use of faulty eyewear.

To avoid being another statistic, it is imperative that you put on the proper eyewear, especially when working on anything that is a potential hazard to the eyes.

 

2.    Sports

eye safety

In the field, goggles can be quite handy not only in protecting your eyes from injury but also in reducing sun glare and filtering out light. This is very useful not just for eye safety but also as a bonus to aid in better sight while playing.

 

3.    At the Computer

Let’s face it. It is pointless to tell you to avoid using your computer in the current world. You may not realize it, but your computer screen causes repetitive strain injury to your eyes, much like the one caused on your wrist by your keyboard as you type. Although this might not cause permanent damage, use the following tips to increase the eye safety:

eye safety

  • Keep your computer screen within 20″-24″ of your eyes
  • Keep the top of your computer screen slightly below eye level
  • Adjust lighting to minimize glare
  • Blink frequently

 

4.    Protection From the Sun

Long-term exposure of the eyes to the sun has been known to increase risk of eye-related problems with the UV rays being key players in that dirty game. To avoid sun damage to your eyes:

eye safety

  • Wear the right sunglasses
  • Avoid staring directly at the sun
  • Check any medication you may be on to see if they have the potential to increase vulnerability of the eyes to sun damage
  • In addition to shades, put a hat into consideration
  • Ensure you drive with UV eye protection

 

5.    Protection From Yourself

Once you decide to go all out in buying the right eyewear and observing all the safety measures from outside attack, all that’s left to watch out for is yourself. Ensure that you do not handle your eyes with dirty hands or poke things at your eyes. If you ever find yourself in a situation where your eyes are in danger of being hit by a heavy object, do all you can to avoid damage to your eyes.

 

Blue Light Blocking Glasses

Sometimes, basic eyewear might not be enough to counter the effects of harmful light rays to your eyes. It is, therefore, suitable to consider other options. Blue light blocking glasses are a perfect example of these alternatives.

Blue light is everywhere as part of the visible spectrum and exposure to this light can cause damage to the photosensitive cells in the retina leading to macular degeneration. Unfortunately, our bare eyes are not great at blocking blue light and this is why we need blue light blocking glasses.

A major source of blue light in our daily lives is the very same devices that we hold so dear to us, our smartphones and computers. If you are using your phone constantly — especially if you use it primarily for texting, e-mailing and web browsing — a convenient way to reduce your blue light exposure is to use a blue light filter. Blocking out blue light is a convenient way to enhance the safety of your eyes and luckily enough, the blue light glasses can be in the form of eyewear or filters to add onto screens.

 

 

Stay Safe!

Proper eye safety cannot be emphasized enough and as such it is up to you to keep track of the things you expose your eyes to. Try as much as possible to avoid anything that might pose a threat to your sight and where possible, put on the best eyewear for the task at hand.

If you or a loved one has a serious eye condition that requires surgery, such as strabismus correction, give Dr. Sami a call at 714-289-2389 or click here to send us a message!