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What are the Different Types of Safety Glasses ?
Glasses like the regular spectacles
and sunglasses or coolers are lenses embedded inside frames and
worn in front of the eyes. The primary purpose of using such
glasses is to correct the vision (the regular glasses) or to
protect the eyes from the sun (sunglasses) and even for plain
fashion purposes. There are some special kind of safety glasses
that are used in the metal laboratories to protect the eyes from
the harmful metal fragments and other caustic substances.
Typically there are three types of
safety glasses. These are
• Safety glasses
• Goggles
• Face shields
Safety glasses – These
glasses resemble the normal eye wear but are actually different
from them. Made out of a special polycarbonate material, safety
glasses are a great solution to protect the eyes from small
fragments of different materials. This polycarbonate material is
highly impact resistant and should be used with impact resistant
frames for best results. Mostly sportsmen or craftsmen prefer
such glasses. If you have a vision correction problem, you can
place a special order to your optical store to make corrective
lenses from this material.
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Goggles
– This is a safety glass that is intended to protect even the
side of the eyes. They are strapped comfortably around the eyes
with the help of a band. The materials used for safety goggles
are usually very flexible rubber or very good quality plastic.
The primary intention of wearing goggles is to protect the eyes
from dust, chemicals or other small fragments that can fly
around the regular safety glasses. Those who do not have a
perfect vision can also use goggles – however, they have to be
made according to the prescription. If you don’t want these
special goggles, use your regular eye correction glasses
underneath the goggles. Special prescription goggles are usually
used by players in sports like basketball, skiing and
racquetball. Moreover, they are also very commonly used in
science laboratories, in construction sites and in carpentry
shops or factories.
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Face
shields – This type of safety glass is slightly
different from the previous ones. Instead of the eyes, the face
shields as the name suggests, gives protection to the entire
face. However, they should not be used as replacements of safety
glasses or goggles. If the user has an eye problem, the lenses
can be worn beneath the shield. The purpose of such shield is to
protect the face form heat as well as any impact. This is
commonly used by welders or people using lasers. The face
shields may either be tinted or metal coated to give protection
from heat and chemical splutter. Face shields have a curve that
directs the particles and chemicals coming from either side
entering the eyes.
Why should one use a safety eyewear
?
One of the most important and sensitive part of the human body
is the eye. Hence utmost care needs to be taken to protect it
from all problems. Any eye injury, however small it may seem to
be should not be taken lightly as it can lead to fatal results
including blindness. Use of a proper safety eyewear ensures that
these valuable possessions are safe from all problems.
Who all should use safety eyewear ?
If you are working in a situation that has a risk of eye injury,
wearing of a safety glass or eyewear is a mandatory. In the
United States of America, the federal law declares that the
employer must provide its employees with the safety eyewear
(depending on the type of job, it can be decided whether to give
safety glasses or goggles or face shields). It is also
recommended that the users check for the mark Z87 anywhere in
the frame or lens; this mark indicates that the eyewear has been
approved by the American National Standards Institute that is
responsible for setting up the criteria for safety glasses and
goggles.
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Even if you are not working in a
condition that poses a risk of eye injury, it is a good idea to
have one or two of such glasses at home. While working in the
garden or around the house that requires tools like hammer or
uses chemicals, there is a possibility of hurting your eyes.
Better safe than sorry – put on your safety glasses and get to
work. Also if you like to play games for relaxing, particularly
basketball, hockey, cricket, racquetball, lacrosse or fast
pitched softball, don’t forget to put on your safety wear. These
games can cause severe injury to the eyes. Don’t think that the
regular glasses that you wear for vision correction can do this
job! These can never be the substitute for the safety eyewear.
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It has been seen that most of the eye injury cases occur when
the workers take them off during a break. So, if you are in such
a risk area, refrain from taking off these glasses unless you
have come out of that area completely.
What are the
most common eye injuries ?
The most common eye injuries include:
• Conjunctivitis (characterized by swollen red eyes) and corneal
abrasions.
• Metal particles like silver entering the eyes.
• Splashing of harmful chemicals causing severe burns.
• Injury in the eye ball.
• Injury from the welding machine
For the welders
Those dealing with welding jobs get exposed to the welding light
that can cause major burns in the eye and the surrounding tissues,
the situation termed as ‘welder’s flashburn’. Given below are some
tips for the welders to protect their eyes:
• The lens used for the welding light protection should be marked
with the shade number, 1.5 to 14 where 14 indicates the darkest
shade.
• The face shields gives protection to the welder’s eyes even when
the helmet is removed.
• Wearing of this protection not only saves the welder but also his
assistants and the other people standing around him.
Wearing of safety glasses when the user
also uses vision correction lenses
• If you have regular prescription lenses and work in a high risk
area that requires safety eyewear, opt for a pair of snugly fitting
goggles.
• Wear the goggles over your normal glasses if you are in a
construction site or any dusty environment.
• You might be tempted to buy the fashionable plastic lenses or
tempered glasses (for normal vision correction)’, but beware! These
glasses however hep might be to look at, are definitely not meant
for high impacts. If you want to use these, ensure that you use a
face shield or goggles.
• Polycarbonate lenses (also called Trivex lenses) are recommended
when you are working in high impact areas. The modern polycarbonate
lenses are hard coated to prevent scratching.
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Article Contributed By: Sukanaya
Banerjee
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