{"id":113403,"date":"2022-08-24T23:04:36","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T03:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=113403"},"modified":"2022-08-24T23:04:36","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T03:04:36","slug":"see-what-you-can-do-to-protect-your-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=113403","title":{"rendered":"See What You Can do to Protect Your Vision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>By Capital Blue Cross \u2013 \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thinkcapitalbluecross.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/thinkcapitalbluecross.com\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1654909453857000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Tyb16vWed2tRPSlihIudM\">THINK<\/a>\u00a0(Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the latest health and insurance issues.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>About a third of all Americans say they aren&#8217;t sure about the best way to take care of their eyes. A professional eye exam is a good start, but there are many simple ways to protect our eyes from serious injury and daily strain.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">Threats to our vision are everywhere, from flying dust and debris in industrial settings, to overexposure to computer, mobile device, and television screens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">And while we value our eyes, the latest Eye-Q survey sponsored by the American Optometric Association (AOA) reports that a third of all Americans aren\u2019t really sure of the best way to take care of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">\u201cStart with a comprehensive dilated eye exam,\u201d said Dr. Jennifer Chambers, chief medical officer at Capital Blue Cross. \u201cSuch exams can reveal common vision problems as well as glaucoma and diabetic eye disease, and other serious conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">\u201cIn terms of protecting our eyes, there are many things we can and should do,\u201d Chambers added. \u201cSafety goggles and masks top the list.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), about 2,000 workers per day in the U.S. sustain eye injuries at work, and most are due to a lack of proper eye protection, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">According to the AOA, occupations with a high risk for eye injuries include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Construction<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Manufacturing<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Mining<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Carpentry<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Auto repair<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Electrical work<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Plumbing<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Welding<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Maintenance \/ janitorial<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"\">Flying debris and chemicals are not the only threats to our vision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">Americans spend an average of nearly nine hours a day looking at device screens, according to a Nielsen survey. Cases of computer vision syndrome, which can include eyestrain, neck and shoulder pain, headaches, blurred vision, increased light sensitivity, and dry eyes are common.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">According to the Mayo Clinic, eyestrain poses no long-term health risk, but can be aggravating and unpleasant, and can make it difficult to focus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"\">Bad lighting, screen glare, and improper viewing distance, can contribute to computer vision syndrome. These tips from eye experts at the AOA, Mayo Clinic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other respected institutions and organizations, can help ease the discomfort:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Practice the 20-20-20 rule to help combat eyestrain: Every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to stare at something about 20 feet away.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Locate computer screens slightly below eye level, and 20 to 28 inches away.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Place reference materials above the keyboard and below or beside the monitor to cut down on head movement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Position lights so they do not reflect in the computer screen.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Enlarge the type for easier reading, and adjust the contrast and brightness.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Blink. People blink less when staring at a computer screen, according to research. That can lead to dry eyes. Blinking produces tears that moisten and refresh the eyes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"\">Use artificial tears if your eyes feel dry.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>You can find more useful articles at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thinkcapitalbluecross.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/thinkcapitalbluecross.com\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thinkcapitalbluecross.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">THINK\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>(Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the latest health and insurance issues.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nJERRY REIMENSCHNEIDER<br \/>\nSenior Public Relations Specialist | Brand &amp; Market Strategy<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.capbluecross.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.capbluecross.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Capital Blue Cross \u2013 \u00a0THINK\u00a0(Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=113403\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">See What You Can do to Protect Your Vision<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/eye-health.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=113403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/113404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=113403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=113403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=113403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}