The United States Department of Labor readily admits that eye injuries are costly for both the employer and the employee. At last count, nationwide, the costs were in the millions. So what’s behind these mounting costs?
There are at least a handful of common, workplace injuries that may impact the eyes of those who fail to wear prescription safety glasses. Let’s take a look at some of them:
Bleeding
A number of impact injuries may cause the eyes to bleed. The bleeding is not always visible to the naked eye. These types of injuries tend to be classified as hyphemas. They take place behind the eyes’ surface layers. Surface layer bleeding, on the other hand, is often referred to as subconjunctival hemorrhaging. Both forms of blood loss have the potential to be dangerous. However, the former type tends to be the more serious of the two.
Abrasions and Fractures
Impact injuries may also cause corneal abrasions and orbital fractures that vary in severity. They may or may not be accompanied by bleeding around the injured area. Either way, some breaks can be so severe that the entire eye is lost. In other cases, the eyes may be saved with some to no vision loss. And with any abrasion or fracture, there is always the risk of secondary infection occurring.
Chemical Burn
Of course not all impacts involve hard objects. Sometimes the eyes come into contact with caustic chemicals. It is important to remember that many of the chemicals used in the workplace are quite volatile, not to mention poisonous. As such, chemical burns could be accompanied by respiratory problems, orbital blowout fractures and much worse.
To learn more about prescription safety glasses and how wearing them may mitigate the damage caused by these common events, please contact VS Eyewear today. We have safety wear available for all working conditions.
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