March is Save Your Vision month

March 16, 2010

The American Optometric Association (AOA) is reminding the general public that March is Save Your Vision month, and workers who are on the job might want to take extra precautions to preserve their eye health.

Approximately 90 percent of job-related eye strain and eye injuries could be prevented with the usage of precautionary measures such as safety eyeglasses, according to BusinessWeek. Additionally, individuals who are noticing eye strain may want to get their vision examined to ensure that they take care of the problem before it progresses.

Symptoms such as dry eyes, headaches, fatigue and blurred vision could all be a sign of computer vision syndrome (CVS), which occurs when an individual focuses on their screen for an extended amount of time.

"CVS can be a serious problem for those who spend hours in front of a computer or hand-held electronic device on a daily basis," James Sheedy, director of the Vision Ergonomics Laboratory at the College of Optometry at Pacific University and the AOA's occupational vision specialist, told the news provider.

According to the AOA, individuals who work in manufacturing or construction should consider wearing safety eyeglasses to protect their eyes from work-related injuries or hazardous materials.