Your vision is a sense crucial to your everyday functioning on the job, at home and at play. But each year, tens of thousands of eye injuries cause either temporary or permanent loss of vision.
The takeaway?
Most eye injuries are preventable by taking one simple safety precaution — wearing eye protection. Your options range from safety glasses and goggles to a face shield or helmet and depend on the hazard. Wear the recommended equipment:
ON THE JOB
Whenever there’s risk of flying objects, chemicals or injurious radiation —examples include welding, hammering, woodworking and metalworking.
AT HOME
Do-it-yourself projects involving working with hand and power tools, auto repair and during yard work such as lawn mowing and weed cutting.
AT PLAY
Sports involving balls, racquets, sticks and bicycles — especially racquetball, handball, squash, hockey, basketball and baseball.
For on-the-job use and do-it-yourself projects, use only goggles that meet standard guidelines from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); make sure that eye protection used for sports meets American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) guidelines.
Don’t forget the sun. If you spend long hours outdoors, your eyes need protection from the sun too. The cumulative effect of UV damage has been linked to cataracts and age-related macular degeneration later in life.
The bottom line: Know the eye safety hazards related to your activity on and off the job. And remember that eye hazards extend to bystanders too. Experts say eye protection can prevent 90 percent of injuries. Use it.