The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends eye protection for a variety of potential exposure settings where workers may be at risk of acquiring infectious diseases via ocular exposure.
Specks in the Eye Do not rub the eye. Flush the eye with large amounts of water. See a doctor if the speck does not wash out or if pain or redness continues. Cuts, Punctures, and Foreign Objects in the Eye Do not wash out the eye. Do not try to remove a foreign object stuck in the eye.
After the structural collapse of a large building, emergency responders and support personnel are often exposed to hazardous agents and conditions. These workers are at high risk of injury and illness at such a site. Described below are common eye hazards and injuries that can occur during these operations and recommendations for protective eye gear, first aid, and steps for preventing eye injuries.
Seek medical attention as soon as possible following an injury, particularly if you have pain in the eye, blurred vision, loss of vision or loss of field of vision. There are several simple first aid steps that can and should be taken until medical assistance is obtained.
While contact lenses cannot provide significant protection from ocular hazards in the workplace, the improved vision many patients experience can have a positive impact on workplace safety. Contact lenses can't provide significant protection from eye hazards in the work place. However, there is no evidence that the wearing of contact lenses increases the risk of eye injury.
Potential eye hazards against which protection is needed in the workplace are: Projectiles (dust, concrete, metal, wood and other particles); Chemicals (splashes and fumes); Radiation (especially visible light, ultraviolet radiation, heat or infrared radiation, and lasers); Bloodborne pathogens (hepatitis or HIV) from blood and body fluids.
NIOSH reports about 2,000 U.S. workers sustain job-related eye injuries that require medical treatment each day. However, safety experts and eye doctors believe the right eye protection could have lessened the severity or even prevented 90% of these eye injuries.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) has submitted a letter of support for legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, (D-New York-6th District). The legislation, H.R. 3384, the "Quiet Communities Act of 2015," would reestablish and reauthorize funding for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Noise Abatement and Control.
Doubling or quadrupling the minimum federally recommended levels of physical activity lowered the risk of developing heart failure by 20 percent and 35 percent, respectively, according to research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.
CDC has launched its redesigned Healthy Pets Healthy People website, with expanded information about diseases people can catch from pets, farm animals, and wildlife. Users can now search alphabetically by animal and learn which zoonotic diseases they may carry.
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