Whether you're at home or at work, you need to be sure you are paying attention to your vision and the health of your eyes. At work especially, you need take good care of your eyes, as you most likely spend a lot of time at your place of work. To help you keep up with your vision health, you need to take the proper steps in caring for your eyes and vision. Read on for a few things you should know about taking care of your eyes and vision in the workplace.
1. Wear Proper PPE
PPE refers to the personal protective equipment, which is most likely used in your workplace depending on your work environment. If you work outside or around heavy machinery, you should be wearing protective eye wear to protect your eyes from any objects or liquids from getting into your eyes. You need to follow your workplace guidelines on wearing the right type of PPE, including the proper eye protection as well.
2. Know Where Eye Wash Stations Are Located
You should also know where to find the eye wash stations in your facility. If you do get something in your eyes, you should be aware of where you need to go to help clean out your eyes to get the object or the liquid or gas out of your eyes. Eye wash stations should be placed around your facility and should be well marked. Use the eye wash station properly, even asking a co-worker for help getting your eyes washed out properly.
3. Take Screen Breaks
If you work in an office setting, you should be making sure you take breaks away from your computer screen often to give your eyes a break. Screen breaks should be at least 20 seconds, so look away from the screen and try to focus your eyes on something else at least 20 feet away. Looking at a screen all day can lead to eye strain and cause your vision to worsen. This is because you aren't allowing your eyes to re-wet and you aren't blinking at all.
4. Make Adjustments
Make adjustments to your desk space to suit you. If there is a glare on your screen, you need to make adjustments to the screen or to your window to reduce the glare. If your screen is too far away, you need to bring your screen closer so you can see it. Adjust your chair or change it altogether so you sit comfortably and don't have to slouch. You most likely sit in your chair for 8 hours or more each day, make sure your workspace suits you without causing vision problems along the way.
You're at work quite a bit each week, make sure you are taking good care of your eye health while you're at your workplace. Go to a place that offers ophthalmology services for help.