Your eye is the most important and the most sensitive part of your body. A minor injury may result in loss of sight or blurred vision. Therefore, you must keep your eyes covered and protect them against possible damage during work. As per the US Bureau of Statistics, more than 20,000 people get eye injuries at their workplace. This happens because the workers fail to wear the appropriate eye gear for their safety. Eye protection glasses fall under PPE, i.e., personal protection equipment.
Wearing safety glasses is the most significant way to protect your eyes from injury. They shield your eyes from a variety of possible threats at work, at home, and the outdoors. Overall, safety eyewear saves organizations and workers a significant amount of time and money. Additionally, wearing safety glasses might significantly influence long-term eye health. Therefore, this article will cover the importance of safety glasses and why one should not avoid wearing them!
What are the risks your eyes get exposed to?
Do you realize the amount of irritation in your eyes when a tiny particle of dust enters? Imagine how dangerous will it be when the following items enter your eye:
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Tiny shards of glass or metal
Tiny shards of glass or metal may unknowingly enter your eye and cause trouble. They may cause internal bleeding and pain in the eyes, and the situation may also get worse than this.
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Metal shavings
Metal can be dangerous for your eyes and cause local irritation and other serious issues. Safeguarding your eyes against these metal shavings is very important.
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Crystalline silica
Those who work in industries related to silica know that they frequently face trouble with their eyes. Irritation, pain, redness, and blurred vision are common symptoms in people associated with the silica industry.
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Accidental entry of splashes of some chemical
You may work in a laboratory and splash a few drops of a chemical into your eyes. The amount of pain, burning sensation, and redness will be incomparable.
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Insects
Small insects may enter inside your eye, and your eye will instantly turn red and watery. You may not be able to relieve the symptoms even after applying for the medicine. The insect causes so much irritation inside your conjunctiva that your vision may also go hazy.
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Flame from welding
While someone is welding around you, a spark from the welding may enter your eyes and result in a lot of pain, damage to the eyes structure, and weakening or loss of vision.
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Radiations in a surgical lab
While using radiation during surgery, some of it may enter the eyes of the assistants, nurses, and other people who may then face trouble. The symptoms may not appear suddenly, but problems start arising over time as the exposure becomes regular.
All these may be related to accidental exposure present in a person’s work environment. Appropriate measures should be taken to protect your eyes from getting exposed to all these things that may harm your eyes and even your vision. You may use prescription safety glasses to protect your eyes.
Let’s understand why the need to use a safety glass arises. Most of the time, any ophthalmologist’s clinic is not very close to such an industrial area, so quick treatment is also impossible in this scenario.
Importance of safety glasses
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Protect the eye from foreign objects
Something that enters the eye from outside the body is referred to as a foreign object in the eye. It might be anything that does not belong there, from a speck of dust to a piece of metal. When a foreign item enters the eye, it is more likely to damage the cornea or conjunctiva.
Any foreign object may enter your eye and cause irritation, redness, and trouble. You may need a protective glass to prevent the entry of any such foreign particle and keep your eyes safe from any allergy. There are times when this foreign particle may still enter your eye from the edges of safety glasses. Hence, proper selection of the glasses is essential.
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Protection from light
A sudden sharp source of light entering your eyes may cause many problems and eyesight issues. The light source can vary between welding, torches, lasers, motor vehicles, etc. You may put on your safety glasses and prevent the possible damage they may cause.
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Protection from pesticides
While working on the field and sprinkling pesticides, you may expose your eyes to large quantities of pesticides. This is very harmful to your eyes. You may also have noticed that your eyes start watering immediately after a slight exposure to these pesticides. Putting on safety glasses will prevent this pesticide from entering your eyes, and your eyes will remain safe.
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Protection from chemicals
A slight drop of chemical is sufficient to cause local irritation in your conjunctiva. While working in a laboratory, you may at all times use safety glasses to prevent these chemicals from entering your eyes.
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Prevention of eye illness
Those who have a desktop job, i.e., have to stare at their computer screen for hours continuously, so the device’s radiation may be hazardous. Computer vision syndrome, a prevalent issue caused by sitting for long hours in front of a computer, can cause blurring of vision and pain in your eyes. Sitting in front of the laptop is unavoidable for those with a job in that area, but they can minimize the risk by using safety glasses.
Conclusion
This article explained the importance of using safety glasses. Your eyes are the beautiful gift that entitles you to see the beautiful world around you. You may not wish to lose your vision at any cost. This is why you should use safety glasses all the time at work so that your eyes remain safe from damage and your vision remains intact.
Once your eyes get damaged, you may have to turn to treatment, prescription safety glasses, and other alternatives for finding relief. If the damage is extensive, the expenditure on restoring the normal function will be cumbersome over your pockets. It is very well said that ‘prevention is better than cure.’ Therefore, you should use safety glasses wherever possible and save your eyes from any further damage.