What Are Safety Goggles Used For?

Mechanics, carpenters, and plumbers are the most likely to sustain workplace eye injuries, with over 70% caused by flying objects. One can wear safety goggles over prescription glasses or contact lenses to protect from flying objects, chemical splashes, and dusty environments.

Eye Protection

It is crucial to wear eye protection. You risk permanent eye damage and even blindness by not wearing safety glasses or goggles on the job. Imagine all the tasks you do every day that could lead to eye injury: grinding, sanding, brushing, sawing, drilling, buffing, hammering, cutting, welding, etc. The smallest dust specks can seriously and permanently damage your eye if they fly at the speed of a bullet while being thrown from a power sander.

Safety Goggles

Safety goggles prevent the eyes from being damaged by particles, chemicals, water, glare, and other factors. As with safety glasses, safety goggles provide impact resistance. Safety goggles should be worn to avoid hazardous situations when grinding, chipping, riveting, and working with wood, corrosive chemicals, or fumes.

Safety goggles consist of a shield attached by a strap wrapped around your head and held in their place with suction. Ventilation holes on standard safety goggles prevent fogging up due to their snug fit. Some goggles have hoods or indirect ventilation openings to protect against thick dust, chemical splashes, or molten materials. Specialized safety goggles are often required for work environments.

Tips For Using Eyewear Protection

When you wear eyewear protection at work, you need to follow some tips. 

• Consider your job when choosing your eyewear.
• Try a different size or style if your eye protection is uncomfortable.
• Ensure that your eye protection equipment remains free from damage, including cracks and scratches, by regularly inspecting it.
• Don’t wear worn, damaged, or otherwise defective equipment.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when cleaning your equipment and store it in a clean, dry place.
• Keeping safety goggles from falling off may require a headband or strap.
• You can wear special goggles over prescription glasses or buy safety goggles that fit over your glasses.
• If you wear goggles, ensure they fit snugly and comfortably around your nose bridge, cheeks, temples, and forehead.
• Make your supervisor aware of any contact lenses you wear. Perhaps your company has certain policies regarding this.
• Ensure that eye protection equipment meets the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Tips For Preventing Eye Injuries

If you want to avoid eye injuries in your workplace, the following tips will be helpful.

Eyeglasses Are Not Protection

It is common for people who wear eyeglasses to believe they offer sufficient protection against any eye hazards. But they’re wrong! Regular lenses break more readily upon impact. Protective lenses will shatter only under very difficult conditions.

Avoid Contact Lenses In The Workplace

It is not recommended to wear contact lenses in the workplace if there are risks of foreign matter, particularly harmful liquids, entering the eyes. Liquids can become trapped beneath the lenses.  Delicate eye tissue is frequently already damaged before lenses are removed, and the eye is flushed. Wearing safety goggles or goggles may not seem like the most attractive choice, or you may think you only look good wearing contact lenses. If you let these thoughts interfere with your eye safety, you are putting yourself at risk of an accident that could leave you blind.

Regular Eye Examinations

By diagnosing and correcting vision problems, people can avoid serious eye injuries in the future since they need good eyesight to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. It is very important to have periodic eye examinations because they are often the only way to discover if someone has vision problems. It can occur because defects are often developed so gradually that changes are not noticed.

Thus, you should ensure that your vision is checked every year and that your eyes are examined. This examination should include glaucoma screening if you are over 40. Glaucoma is a condition of increased pressure in the eyeball that causes significant blindness in adults. One can take corrective measures in cases Glaucoma is detected. A clear vision will enable you to recognize hazards in the environment and avoid them.

Use Adequate Illumination

For you to be able to perform your job safely, you will also need adequate illumination.  If you think lighting needs to be improved or if you need to replace a light bulb or a fluorescent tube, inform your supervisor of the situation.

Avoid Touching Your Eyes

It is also natural to wipe our eyes when we experience an itch or irritation. It is possible to wipe chemicals into your eye and potentially cause irreversible damage, such as blindness if you have chemical-contaminated hands.

Conclusion

A serious eye injury can result in pain, lost time, loss of money, and even loss of sight. You pay a very high price for a moment of carelessness, even if your vision is slightly impaired. Risks can be deadly, and this case is a grim reminder of what’s at stake when we take them. Use common sense and proper eye protection whenever eye protection hazards are evident. Make sure you are familiar with the proper first aid treatment for eye injuries and seek medical attention if necessary.

Are you interested in learning about different security solutions you can employ for your safety? Check out the rest of Be-Safe’s resources today!