Eye injuries can easily happen both at home and in the workplace. Millions of people are afflicted by such injuries every year, making eye safety an important aspect of day-to-day life. Unfortunately, the outcome of these injuries can be quite devastating, leading to damaged vision, or even blindness.
In many workplaces, there are safety regulations in place to help ensure eye injury prevention. This has resulted in more accidents taking place at home and outdoors. Many people underestimate how easily an injury to the eye can occur when they least expect it. Here we will look at what can be done to limit the risk of eye injuries in the workplace and out.
Tips For Preventing Eye Damage
1. At Home
Use safety goggles when handling hazardous chemicals. This is quite common with some cleaning products and DIY materials. When you consider eye safety topics, you will find that the use of safety goggles is key in preventing damage to the eye from harmful liquids and other flying particles or debris. Do the same where you are involved in dusty work as even minute particles can give eyes injuries.
Ensure all household chemicals are properly labeled, tightly secured, and kept out of reach of children. This will reduce the risk of mistakes when using them and avoid dangerous leakages. Use lockable cupboards for storage to avoid children accessing the materials.
When using spray bottles with chemical cleaning agents, ensure that you turn the nozzle away from your face before pushing it down. Also, ensure that after you finish cleaning, you thoroughly wash your hands. This will prevent transfer if you happen to touch your eyes thereafter.
Be careful of your child's playthings. From projectiles like darts to ordinary stationery like rubber bands, you have to carefully supervise your children at play to ensure they do not get their hands on what may be harmful. Also, keep sharp objects like pencils and knives away from the youngest hands as they may be mistakenly mishandled.
Keep your home well lit, especially when it is dark, like during nighttime. Poor visibility encourages accidents which can lead to damage to eye areas. Where possible, also avoid having sharp corners and edges to your furniture and fixtures. Use padding where possible to reduce the risk of eye injuries.
2. Outdoors
Invest in UV-protected eyewear. This is especially important where you spend many hours outdoors. Too much exposure to the sun's UVA and UVB rays can damage eyesight. This should apply whether the weather is sunny or cloudy. Also, avoid looking directly into the sun.
Carefully store hazardous materials. Fertilizer for the garden and pool chemicals are a few of the likely dangerous materials homeowners make regular use of yet can be quite harmful to health. Ensure they are safely stored and handled to prevent undue exposure and mixing.
Safeguard your kids. Keep them well away from activities that involve flying particles and debris like when mowing the lawn or cutting wood. If you insist on having them nearby, ensure they have safety goggles on as well.
If playing sports that involve small or sharp projectiles, ensure that you wear suitable safety goggles. This can include games like paintball and archery. Also, consider goggles when swimming. Not only will it improve your visibility, but it also protects your eyes from chemicals used to treat the water.
3. At Work
When considering how to prevent injuries at work, wearing appropriate protection is necessary. This will naturally depend on work conditions. You may be able to effectively protect your eyes through the use of gear like safety goggles, face shields, or welding helmets. Where you are at risk of exposure to harmful chemicals, or other eye hazards, correctly fitting eye coverage will be a must. Ensure the eyewear meets industry safety standards.
Ensure you are using the right eyewear. If working outdoors, the lenses should incorporate UV protection. Those engaging in dusty work should have scratch-resistant lenses. They should also allow for clear visibility which is particularly important where you are engaging in hazardous work. Whenever safety goggles are damaged, their ability to protect is compromised. They should be quickly replaced to maintain safety standards.
Practice good safety. Besides ensuring you have on the right safety gear, you also need to ensure each person understands their duties and is suitably trained to undertake them. They should know how to safely handle equipment and keep passages clear of objects to reduce the risk of workplace accidents. Team members should also be trained in first aid techniques that apply to eye safety. This can reduce the risk of permanent eye damage even if an accident should occur.
What to Do When You Suffer an Eyeball Injury
· Perform First Aid
If you have first aid training, you can apply it during accidents to avoid further injury. This can range from flushing an eye splashed by chemicals with clean water to placing a gauze patch over the eye wound till you can get to the hospital. If you lack training, simply try to protect the injured area without trying to remove the objects. Do not apply pressure on the area or allow the person to rub it. And, get them to a hospital fast, or call for an ambulance.
· Seek Medical Care
No matter how mild or severe the eye impact suffered, do seek medical attention. Even something minor can turn serious if left unattended. Allow a doctor to perform a checkup and ensure no further harm will occur.
Eye Problems to Seek Medical Care For
Some eye injuries in the workplace can be quite mild and even difficult to notice at the time. You may feel the symptoms come on much later when you are at home or at leisure. If any of the symptoms below appear, do seek medical attention as soon as possible:
- Swelling
- Redness
- Eye pain
- Muscle spasms around the eye
- Eye fatigue of heavy eyelids
- Excessive tearing
- Vision problems
- Recurring headaches
Even minor injuries can lead to permanent eye damage or blindness. Do not ignore symptoms when they begin to appear. The earlier you seek medical help, the better your chances of salvaging any damage.
