How to Avoid Eye Injuries at Your Workplace?

Our eyes are highly-developed delicate sensory organs. The tissues inside our eyes can get damaged from accidents or chemical exposure. And since we spend a large portion of our day at the work, eye injuries in the workplace have become increasingly common.

Eye hazards at work are not just limited to the people working in open spaces. Even if you work in a closed office, your eyes may get injured as well. For instance, your vision may decline due to countless hours spent on computer work without using blue light glasses. The type of eye protection you need depends on the type of the risk you are exposed to and its intensity.

Types of eye injuries

There are various reasons found in workplace that can cause eye diseases, disorders. Common eye health hazards include cuts, scratches or bruises on your eye surface, dust particles or foreig objects in the eye, chemical burns or exposure to the infrared radiation. For such reason, these conditions are commonly referred as work related eye injuries.

Some people don’t pay any heed to protecting their eyes at the office. As a result, accidents happen when they are unguarded. In some cases, workers are wearing the wrong protective eyewear with no side or face shields.

It’s the responsibility of the employer to make sure that every worker or employee has the right face covers or protective gear and they follow the safety rules.

Causes of workplace eye injuries

Every year, more than thousands of eye injuries occur in UK offices. It is caused due to risky workplace environments or carelessness at the job. But the good thing is that these injuries can be easily avoided by introducing some safety protocols at the workplace.

Here are some of the most common causes that pose threat to your eye health:

1. Flying debris

If you work on a construction, the cement or the dust from the bricks can get inside your eyes and cause eye irritation or cornea scraping in some severe cases. Corneal abrasion leads to light sensitivity or watery eyes.

Moreover, if your work involves cutting or grinding of metals, the small heated pieces may fly around. If these particles manage to find a way to your eye, they are able to cause thermal burn or other significant injuries. Wearing glasses with side shields will give an all round protection to your eyes.

2. Harmful radiation

Excessive radiation is very harmful for our body. Our body has a limit for radiation and anything above that has a negative impact on your health and eyes. If you work outdoors for long periods of time, you might want to protect your peepers from the bad UV light.

You can wear sunglasses that will block the UV radiation. Or if you wear some kind of optical device such as readers or varifocal glasses, you can get an Anti-UV coating on their lenses. Protect your eyes from the sun as you would your skin.

3. Tools

Our workplaces have different tools and equipment. Using a welding torch exposes your eyes to high levels of UV radiation. Not only the worker, the people standing near these tools, the supervisor and assistants should also wear protective eyewear. Wearing a welding helmet will give maximum coverage to your eyes.

4. Chemicals

When the chemical fumes reaches your eyes, they can cause everything from a burning sensation to permanent vision loss. Working in a chemical lab or hospital environment, the toxic gases can cause serious eye damage. Use safety goggles with anti-fog lenses or wide face shields to prevent eye irritation or skin allergies.

Generally, acids can cause redness and burning sensation to eyes. But acid can be washed out fairly easily.
Chemicals are much more serious but not more harmful than the acids. It does not cause immediate eye pain or redness as acid does.

5. Unattended vision problems

If your eyesight is already insufficient, working close up tasks will only deteriorate their health. If you have a poor eyesight, you won’t be able to see what you are doing. A little negligence can put you and the workers around you at a great risk of accidental injuries.

Even if you don’t have a refractive error, the natural state of your eyes can change when you turn 40. The decline in your near vision will need you to wear reading glasses to perform close up tasks better.

If you notice any of the above signs in yourself or any other, so immediately you should get medical help.

6. Digital eye strain

One more eye hazard that stems from bad light. If you work for long hours on digital devices, the blue light can take a toll on your eyes. It works by targeting your retinal cells and thereby reducing your vision.

If you have a 9 to 5 job that includes computer work or you are a professional gamer, you can benefit from gaming glasses. They will filter out any bad light emitted from your devices and reduce glare so you get a clearer view.

If you don’t want to spend much on gaming glasses, you will find the best-quality glasses at cheap rates online. Consider buying them from Specscart UK or some other online retail shop that offer good-quality glasses at unbeatable prices.

Eye injuries can cause eyesight loss or blindness. So it is important to recognize eye problems and its causes to get proper treatment at the right time.

The takeaway

However, if you think that your eyes are safe and not facing any problem while working, so you need to change your mind. You should be very careful and extra alert but there is always a possibility of accidents. No matter where you are, make sure you give the right kind of protection to your eyes. Treat eye injuries as soon as possible and never hesitate to contact with an eye specialist. Don’t take any risk because eyes are the most sensitive organ to our body. You have only one pair of valuable eyes.