Workplace Eye Safety: Tips & Best Practices

As Sapulpa family optometrists, we emphasize the importance of proactive eye care and safety, including eye safety in the workplace. 

While 50% of eye injuries occur at home or during recreational activities, the other 50% are caused by eye-related work injuries. In addition to threatening future vision, workplace eye injuries cost time and money for both employees and employers (AAO).

90% Of Workplace Eye Injuries Could Have Been Avoided

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the leading causes of eye injuries at work are:

1. Direct contact with objects or equipment.
2. Exposure to harmful toxins, substances, or other environmental threats.
3. Violence from other people or animals.
4. Falls, slips, and trips.

Unfortunately, 90% of all work-related eye injuries could have been avoided if employees had accessed proper safety and protective gear.

When it comes to missing workdays due to an eye injury, which translates to lost wages, certain occupations are at higher risk than others. Again, the U.S. BLS ranks industries with the most lost days of work due to eye injuries, and they are:

• Construction and trades workers.
• Material-moving workers.
• Building, cleaning, and pest control workers.
• Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.
• Production occupations.
• Metalworkers.
• Plastic workers.

If you work in any of the above industries, consider whether your management is doing all they can to increase eye safety in the workplace. If not, share this blog or speak to them about ways they can help reduce the risk of eye injuries for their staff.

Tips To Increase Workplace Eye Safety

Here are tips to increase eye safety at work and minimize the risk of eye injuries, particularly those that could lead to long-term vision loss or blindness.

Here are optometrist tips and best practices for reducing the risk of an eye injury at work.

Use proper eye protection

People get used to what they do daily, which can lead to false security about donning things like eye protection, hard hats, boots, or shoes with a non-slip grip, and so on. Since 90% of all work-related eye injuries would have been prevented with proper eye protection, this one is an automatic #1.

Not all eye protection is created equal. For example, unless they are OSHA-approved prescription safety glasses, your normal eyeglasses do not count as a layer of protection. Your eye protection should be appropriate to your tasks and the environment. 

Safety glasses or goggles should always be American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-approved and OSHA-compliant. 

• Safety glasses or goggles should have side shields if you work around flying shards of glass, metal, wood, dust, or other potentially harmful objects or debris.
• If you work around chemicals or other toxic substances, goggles are a must and should be designed for the type of chemicals/substances you’re exposed to.
• You’ll need specific goggles, shields, or masks if you’re working with welding tools, lasers, or fiber optics.

Have regular safety meetings

Weekly safety meetings are proven to reduce workplace injuries, including work-related eye injuries. Routine meetings keep information fresh and provide task- and seasonally relevant information that increases eye safety in the workplace.

In addition to reminding employees which safety gear and eye protection should be worn during winter and summertime meetings, they should emphasize the importance of protecting their eyes from glare (which can lead to driving or equipment accidents) or UV rays that can do permanent damage.

Implement adequate task and safety lighting

Being able to see via adequate task and safety lighting is also an essential part of increasing general safety in the workplace. Poor lighting can lead to a number of accidents that pose a risk to the eyes.

Post MSDS sheets in visible locations

In addition to warning employees about the level of risk inherent in workplace chemicals or other potentially harmful substances, MSDS sheets also include essential first-aid information in the event that your eyes or a co-worker are directly exposed to or negatively impacted by a particular chemical.

Load First-Aid kits with ample eye-washing solutions

Depending on the situation, quick access to safe eye-washing solutions and ample flushing of the affected eye(s) can minimize eye damage from certain objects, debris, particulates, or chemicals/substances. Different from eye drops, these solutions usually come in bottles with a special eye-washing cup to support the flushing of the eye’s surface.

We recommend that eyewashing solutions be included in every first-aid kit on-site and in employee vehicles or work trucks. To avoid the risk of contamination between uses, eyewash solutions should be replaced whenever they are used, even if they aren't completely used up.

Eye Injury First-Aid Tips

First and foremost, never rub, touch, or apply pressure to eye injuries. Here are some basic first-aid tips for common eye injuries. 

Recognize a potential injury

Some eye injuries are obvious, such as when an object penetrates the eye or when direct contact with an abrasive or acidic chemical occurs. However, small particulates can cause considerable damage if they aren’t flushed or removed quickly.

Some of the most common signs of a workplace eye injury include:

• The eyelid or eye membrane is cut or torn.
• Obvious pain, irritation, or difficulty seeing.
• You notice blood in the white part of the eye (sclera)
• The pupil of the eye has an irregular shape or size.
• One eye does not move as well as the other.
• One eye sticks out compared to the other.
• There is an object in the eye or under the lid that can’t be flushed out or removed easily.

Transport anyone with the above symptoms to your employer’s preferred urgent care or ER for immediate evaluation.

If something is in the eye

If a series of quick blinks or eye washing doesn’t clear debris from the eye, a physician or optometrist needs to look at it in case it penetrates the eye membrane or lid. 

Blunt trauma to the eye

If the eye has been hit or knocked hard by an object or person and there are no obvious signs of serious injury (blood in the white part of the eye, lacerations, odd pupils, etc.), apply a clean ice pack or bag of frozen veggies - wrapped in a clean, soft towel - for 15 minutes and reassess the injury. Remember to gently apply the pack without pressing on the eye.

A black eye, painful eyes, or any experience of vision loss or blurriness warrants a trip to urgent care or the ER.

Cut or punctured eye

Do not remove anything that has punctured the eye. A paper cup or similar shield can be taped over the eye, using the eye socket bones as the stabilizer, so the object penetrating the eye isn’t pushed further in. 

In the case of a laceration or puncture, do not wash or flush the eye, as this can do further damage.

Also, do not administer any pain medications, as this can increase bleeding. Individuals with seriously injured eyes require immediate medical attention.

Chemical splashes or burns

If the MSDS sheets are available quickly, consult them. Otherwise, use fresh water (gently running faucet water) or an eye-washing solution/kit to flush as much of the chemical out of the eye as possible.

Seek immediate medical attention.

Visit Eye to Eye After A Workplace Eye Injury

Did you experience a “minor” eye injury at work that isn’t resolving in 24 hours? Have you recently been released from an ER or urgent care after an eye injury but desire personalized follow-ups from an optometrist? 

Schedule an appointment at Eye to Eye Family Vision Care. We’ll provide personalized post-injury eye care and the information you need to protect your eyes and vision in the future.