Your eyes are two very important parts of your body that must always be protected.  We may take our senses of vision, smell, taste, hearing and feeling for granted, but if you lose your eyesight, your whole world can be changed in an instant.  Since January is National Eye Care Month, we think it’s a good idea to focus on this subject.

Workplace eye-related injuries account for approximately 94,500 people being treated in U.S. hospitals, according to Prevent Blindness America.  Employers and employees must be educated about hazards that workers face on a daily basis.  Prevent Blindness America has categorized the top causes of eye injuries at work, and we want to pass that on to you:

Product Categories Est’d Injuries Per Year
Tools (power,portable,manual, other)                               19,458
Welding Equipment                                                                     15,338
Adhesives                                                                                          5,733
Bleaches (non-cosmetic)                                                            5,580
House Repair/Construction                                                      4,476
Lawn Mowers                                                                                   4,388
Paints, Varnishes,Shellacs,Removers                                   3,434
Chemicals                                                                                          3,350

In an article we presented last year, “Focusing on Occupational Eye Injuries”, welding equipment led the number of work-related eye injuries last year, and tools came in second.  We can see by the statistics there is still much work to do regarding training and proper use of Work Safety Products.  After assessing the particular hazards by management/safety personnel at your workplace, the determination should be made regarding what type of eye/face protection is needed.  There are all types of safety glasses: wraparound, side-shields that fit on temples of glasses, goggles, and faceshields.  Our wonderful gift of vision could be lost in a split second by not taking that few seconds to put on eye safety gear.

OSHA states that thousands of workers are blinded annually in work-related eye injuries that could have been prevented with selection and use of proper eye protection.  Costs to employers are more than $300 million annually in lost production time, medical expenses, and worker compensation.

So, it benefits both the employer and employee to be aware of the hazards their workplace may contain.  And, as you can see in the list, there are many items listed above that we use at our homes, as well.  The next time you mow your lawn, why not put on a pair of safety glasses?  What could it hurt?