How to Protect Your Eyes From Blue Light?

As you know, staring into the light can cause eye damage. It’s why it’s a good idea to wear sunglasses on sunny days in California. However, that’s not the only source of light that can hurt your eyes. Light from electronic devices can cause eye damage as well. Although there are different types of light, blue light is one of the most common types that people are exposed to on a regular basis.

As such, you’ll want to make sure that you take precautions against any possible damage that blue light can cause to your eyes as a result of long-term exposure.

What is Blue Light?

Blue light is a type of light that is found in both natural and artificial light sources. Blue light has a shorter wavelength than other colors of light, and this is what gives it its name. The sun is the most well-known source of blue light, but it can also be found in fluorescent and LED lights. LED TVs, computer screens, tablet screens, and smartphones all emit blue light. In fact, any electronic device that emits light can be a source of blue light exposure.

How Can Blue Light Damage Your Eyes?

One of the most common problems that can be caused by blue light exposure is digital eye strain, which is caused by looking at digital screens for long periods of time. Symptoms of digital eye strain include difficulty focusing and irritated eyes.

A more severe problem that can be caused by blue light exposure is macular degeneration. This is a serious condition that can lead to blindness. Macular degeneration is caused by damage to the macula, which is the part of the eye that is responsible for central vision.

Ways to Protect Your Eyes From Blue Light

The following are a few tips to help protect your eyes against blue light damage:

  • Decrease the amount of time spent staring at screens.
  • Use screen filters to decrease your blue light exposure.
  • Wear yellow-tinted or anti-reflective glasses to block blue light.

Protect Your Eyes

You should do everything you can to prevent eye injuries, including protecting against blue light. For more safety awareness information, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Disability Awareness Day: July 16th

Disability Awareness Day: July 16th

Living with a disability can be incredibly challenging. Unfortunately, people don’t realize how many people in the U.S. are disabled. Believe it or not, there are 38.3 million people in the U.S. living with a severe disability. Additionally, according to the CDC, roughly 61 million people have a disability of some kind, even if it’s not necessarily severe. As a result, people with disabilities make up the country’s largest minority group.

To help spread awareness about people living with disabilities, July 16th has been designated as Disability Awareness Day.

What Is Considered a Disability?

A disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that significantly limits a person’s ability to perform daily activities. A person can be considered disabled from birth or can experience a disability over their lifetime. Such disabilities can be caused by everything from physical accidents to diseases.

Disability Awareness Facts

The following are a few disability facts that everyone should know about:

  • There are over a billion people in the world that live with some sort of disability.
  • Upwards of 190 million people have severe disabilities that require healthcare services.
  • People with disabilities often face prejudice and discrimination, especially in parts of the world where healthcare service providers have a limited understanding of disabilities.
  • It’s estimated that 80% of people throughout the world with disabilities live in developing countries.
  • Around 90% of children in developing nations who live with a disability do not go to school.
  • Around two out of three disabled individuals in the U.S. who are unemployed want to work.
  • Employees who live with disabilities have much higher retention rates than those who are not disabled.

Living With a Disability Is Challenging

It’s important that people know how common it is to live with a disability and how it can affect a person’s daily life. Spreading awareness about this is crucial to ensuring that disabled individuals gain access to a higher quality of life both in California and around the world. For more health awareness information, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Preventing Eye Injury

Eye injuries often come out of nowhere. In fact, people often involve themselves in tasks or activities without even realizing that they could be at risk of an eye injury. As a result, many people don’t take the necessary precautions to help prevent eye injuries. For example, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, there are roughly 30,000 sports-related eye injuries, while 40 percent of all eye injuries are caused by everyday tasks performed at home (such as cooking, repair work, cleaning, and yard work). 

With that in mind, being aware of potential eye injury risks and taking the steps to prevent eye injuries is incredibly important. As such, July has been named Eye Injury Prevention Month.

How to Prevent Eye Injuries in California

The following are a few eye safety tips to keep in mind when performing a task or activity that can result in a potential eye injury:

  • If you’re working in a garage or workspace in the presence of intense light, heat, or flying debris, be sure to wear safety goggles.
  • When playing certain sports (such as those involving physical contact) wear protective eyewear. For example, getting hit by a pitch playing baseball or getting an elbow in the eye playing basketball can cause severe eye injuries.
  • Whenever using something sharp, such as a knife, make sure to keep the sharp end away from you when handling it.
  • Purchase a pair of protective goggles for your home that you can wear whenever you have to do every day repairs.
  • The sun can cause eye injuries as well. To prevent injuring your eye as a result of sun exposure, wear sunglasses when outdoors.
  • If you injure your eye, such as if you get a cut or a foreign object causes an eye injury, seek medical attention.

Take Precautions to Avoid Eye Injuries

Serious eye injuries can lead to partial or complete blindness, which is why it’s so important that you do everything you can to prevent eye injuries. Keep these eye safety tips in mind and spread awareness about eye safety to your friends and family. For more safety awareness information, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

5 Quick Facts About Drowning

Facts About Drowning

Summer is finally here, which means that residents throughout California will be heading to the beach soon if they haven’t already. However, if you are planning an upcoming beach trip, it’s important that you take every precaution you can to keep you and your family safe, especially if you’re going to go for a swim.

In fact, you should practice swimming safety whether you’re going to the beach or to a pool. Drowning accidents occur more than you realize, which is why swimming safety awareness is so important. 

5 Drowning Facts You Should Know

The following are a few important facts about drowning that everybody should know:

  1. Outside of birth defects, drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages 1 to 4.
  2. There are around 3,960 unintentional drownings every year in the U.S. alone.
  3. Non-fatal drownings can occur, but they result in long-term health problems, such as brain damage.
  4. There are an average of 8,080 non-fatal drownings every year in the U.S.
  5. Alcohol is involved in up to 70% of the deaths that are associated with water recreation.

Swimming Safety Tips

If you’re going swimming this summer, keep the following safety tips in mind:

  • Never leave children unattended in or near the water.
  • Make sure that you teach your children how to swim before letting them go into the water.
  • Do not drink alcohol while near or in the water.
  • Wear a life jacket if you’re swimming in open water (such as off a boat).
  • Don’t go swimming in bad weather.
  • Stay within an arm’s length of anyone who is an inexperienced swimmer.
  • If you own a pool, put up appropriate barriers to prevent people from falling in by accident.
  • Don’t go swimming by yourself. Make sure there are other adults around in case anything happens.

Stay Safe in the Water This Summer

If you are going swimming, then be aware of how common drowning accidents can be if you’re not careful. Keep swimming safety in mind and visit us at The Benefits Store for more safety awareness tips.

4 Extreme Heat Safety Tips

Extreme Heat Safety Tips

California is one of the best places to be in the U.S. when it comes to the summer season. Who doesn’t love visiting California’s beautiful beaches during the summer months? Although temperatures are often perfect for enjoying the outdoors, there are days when temperatures may rise to a dangerous level. This is important to note since there are more extreme heat-related deaths every year than other weather-related deaths (such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and more).

As such, it’s crucial that you keep extreme heat safety tips in mind.

The Dangers of Extreme Heat

If you’re exposed to the heat for too long, it can make it difficult for your body to cool itself. As a result, the risk of heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, will increase. If your body is unable to cool itself down, it can result in damage to vital organs, such as your brain.

Anyone can experience a heat-related illness due to overexposure to extreme temperatures. It’s estimated that there are over 1,300 extreme heat-related deaths in the U.S. every year.

Extreme Heat Safety Tips

The following are a few tips on how to avoid suffering heat-related illnesses during the hotter days of the summer in California:

  • Pay attention to the weather: Before heading to the beach, check the temperatures for the day. If there’s an extreme heat warning, avoid going out.
  • Stay hydrated: Drink lots of water and avoid alcohol. By doing so, you make it easier for your body to regulate its temperature.
  • Exercise when it’s cool out: If you like to exercise outdoors, avoid going outside during the hottest part of the day. Instead, exercise early in the morning or later in the evening, when temperatures go down.
  • Pay attention to your kids: Don’t let them play outside if temperatures are too high. Don’t leave them in the car by themselves. Make sure they’re hydrated and wearing light, loose-fitting clothing.

Summers in California can be incredibly enjoyable as long as you keep these extreme heat safety tips in mind to avoid the extreme heat. For more summer safety tips, visit us at The Benefits Store today.