Eye Injuries
Workplace eye injuries
An estimated 1,000 eye injuries occur in the workplace on any given day, and two-thirds of the workers injured were not wearing protective eyewear. However, most eye injuries are preventable, and workers who use their protective eyewear generally do not suffer severe eye injuries.
Types of workplace eye injuries include:
- Chemical burns
- Radiation burns
- Foreign bodies
- Contusions
- Lacerations
- Projectile injuries
Causes of eye injuries in the workplace
Eye injuries can be caused by flying chips of wood, metal, or glass, contact with chemicals, grease or oil splashes, burns from steam, and laser, ultraviolet, or infrared radiation exposure. Objects in the eye usually only cause minor irritations, but there is always a risk of more severe damage if the eye receives cuts or scrapes.
Injured employees should always inform their physician if the injury resulted from a strike or blow of a hammer, lathe, or explosives. Eye injuries caused by high-speed particles could cause a perforation, and pain may not be present. In addition, it's important for the physician to know if the injury was caused by broken glass, as additional glass fragments from the breakage may pose a secondary threat. Specific chemicals or vapors causing distress should be reported as well.
Preventing eye injuries
Employers and workers both play major roles in ensuring eye safety on the job. Employers may choose to offer additional training and eye injury prevention methods for their employees to decrease the risk of eye injuries.
As an employee, there are several key elements to eye injury prevention. Know the eye safety dangers at work and eliminate hazards before beginning work, such as using machine guards and work screens. Wearing proper eye protection like safety glasses or goggles, and face shields and helmets, making sure they are correctly fitted, and keeping the safety eyewear in good condition will also help to prevent workplace eye injuries.
How Concentra can help
Employers can experience high costs from eye injuries in the workplace, and these types of injuries can also lead to lost production time, medical expenses, and workers' compensation. The rate of eye injury and lost work time can be greatly reduced when protective eyewear is worn. However, when employees are injured in the workplace and need quality care, Concentra's experienced clinicians can help patients return to work more quickly and safely.
