An eye wear opportunity

There are nearly 300,000 annual emergency room visits in America due to workplace eye injuries, but many workers don't like to wear eye gear because they're not happy with the available options.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, these 270,000 annual emergency room visits hail primarily from the manufacturing, mining and construction industries.

Aside from time off from work, they also cost employers more than $300 million each year in lost productivity, medical bills and workers' compensation claims.

“As sobering as these numbers are, what is invariably overlooked is that as many as 90% of these injuries are preventable,” said Jeffery Gayer, VP product development & marketing for Impact Products, LLC., a manufacturer of professional safety products and protective gear. “And the best way to prevent them is to wear appropriate protective eyewear on the job.”

According to Gayer, workers prefer to risk it than wear protective eye gear because the existing options are uncomfortable, unsightly, or disruptive to their work.

"A big reason they do not wear eye gear, and this applies to men and women, is they simply do not like the way they look," he said. "We have found that workers who are comfortable with the look and style of protective eye gear are more likely to wear it, even be proud to wear it. This can help prevent thousands of eye injuries every year.”