Important Safety Goggles Tips For Everyone
Why Is It Important To Wear Safety Goggles?
Safety Goggles are designed to provide impact, dust and chemical splash protection to the wearer.
You should wear them because they are the best defense against eye injuries.
They must be worn correctly at all times as they protect your eyes from a myriad of potential hazards at work, home and outdoors.
Safety Goggles are highly impact resistant so that they do not shatter or break easily to prevent injuries to the wearer.
What If I Don't Wear Safety Goggles At Work?
If you're not wearing safety goggles on the job, you're risking permanent eye damage and blindness if your eyes gets damaged or injured by projectiles or chemical or oil splashes.
Think about all the work activities you may do each day that can cause eye injury: grinding, sanding, brushing, sawing, drilling, buffing, hammering, cutting, welding and working with chemicals not to mention fire and extreme heat or dealing with smoke or toxic fumes.
Realistically, safety goggles saves businesses and workers a huge amount of time and money as they are meant to provide eye injuries at the work place.
What Is The Most Common Type Of Workplace Eye Injury?
The majority of eye injuries result from small particles or objects striking or scraping the eye, such as dust, cement chips, metal slivers and wood chips.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 300,000 eye injuries occur in the workplace each year.
They range from superficial eye injuries to severe trauma that can cause permanent damage, vision loss and blindness.
Majority Of Eye Injuries Are Preventable
Of these 300,000 eye injuries, it's estimated that 90% of them were preventable if the workers had been wearing the appropriate eye protection.
That's 270,000 workplace injuries that could be avoided each year!
A lot of workers would not need to suffer the pain of eye injury or worse case scenario, partial or total blindness as a result of the eye injury.
These are some of the eye injuries that could have been prevented if proper safety goggles were worn :
The 5 Most Common Types Of Eye Injuries
Scratches To The Eye
Most commonly, an eye becomes scratched when a foreign body enters it and the individual then rubs the eye in an attempt to remove the irritation.
Eyes can also become scratched when they are hit by a foreign body.
A scratched eye can become severe very quickly, with a fungal infection, for example, so seeing a doctor if there is no improvement in a day or two is crucial.
Foreign Object In The Eye
An object in the eye can be anything from an eyelash and dust to wood splinters and food.
Usually eye flushing can remove these objects.
However, when a foreign object, such as a fish hook, actually penetrates the eye, self-removal is a bad idea.
Instead, getting to a doctor right away is important and crucial.
Also, if the eye is scratched by the object and does not improve in a couple of days, see your doctor.
Flash Burn To The Eyes
Burns to the eyes come from sources such as sunlight, welding, tanning booths, and sunlamps.
Protecting eyes against sunburn. Yes, your eyes can get a sunburn and taking precaution in welding and other situations is essential to preventing flash burns.
Eye Impacts
These types of injuries often happen in sports, and the result is usually a swollen, black and blue eye.
A blunt eye injury is a type of injury in which you get hit hard in the eye, usually by an object such as a ball.
A blunt eye injury may damage your eyelid, eyeball and the thin bones behind your eyeball.
It's important to check for additional injuries, such as a broken eye socket or internal damage.
When a blow to the eye occurs, see your doctor right away.
Chemical Burns To The Eye
This type of injury often happens when a chemical is splashed into the eye or transferred from an individual's hands when they touch their eyes before washing off the chemicals.
Fumes and vapors can also cause chemical burns.
Finding out the type of chemical, acid or alkali, is crucial since acid can be washed out more easily than alkali.
If eyes become red or blurry or do not improve after 24 hours, visit a doctor.
Bloodborne Pathogens To The Eye
For those in the medical industry especially doctors, nurses, surgeons, dentist,
emergency rescue workers, physical therapists and health care workers who have direct patient contact on a daily basis need to wear safety goggles.
This is to prevent bloodborne pathogens from patients' body fluids from getting into contact with their eyes or skin to prevent them from contracting HIV, Hepatitis or Covid-19.
Safety googles are usually worn with medical grade face mask and face shield as part of the personal protective equipment (PPE) required to be worn by medical personnel especially frontline medical workers.
The safety goggles need to be disinfected and sanitized frequently on a daily basis so they can be re-used.
The Best Approach For Eye Safety Is A Preventative One
While thousands of eye accidents happen each day, 90% of these are preventable with the use of appropriate safety eyewear.
Because there are good eye safety regulations in the workplace, the home is the source of the fastest-growing number of eye injuries.
Many people don't realize the potential hazards to their eyes that exist in and around their homes.
When you're performing everyday tasks at home, such as doing chores, your eye safety may not be the first thing that comes to mind.
Accidents do happen though, and they can lead to various types of eye injuries, such as chemical burns, puncture wounds, or corneal scratches in one or both eyes.
The severity of at-home eye injuries certainly varies.
While some minor injuries may not cause serious or long-lasting problems, other more severe injuries can lead to permanent eye damage and even vision loss.
While you don't need to wear safety goggles at home at all times to prevent eye trauma, there are plenty of things you can do to decrease your risk of eye injuries in general and when undertaking certain activities.
Even Michelin star chef Jai Fai wears safety goggles when cooking her popular dishes to protect her eyes from the heat, fumes and oil splashes.
If you're planning to do some DIY around the house that involves the car, lawn mower, electric saw, plumbing, painting or electrical wiring, it's best to wear the appropriate safety gear and safety goggles to protect your eyes, face and body.
What Should Be Done In An Eye Emergency?
Seek medical attention as soon as possible following an injury, particularly if you have pain in the eye, blurred vision, loss of vision or loss of field of vision.
There are several simple first aid steps that can and should be taken until medical assistance is obtained.
First aid for eye emergencies :
Chemicals In The Eye
Immediately flush the eye with water for at least 15 minutes.
Place the eye under a faucet or shower, use a garden hose, or pour water into the eye from a clean container.
If you are wearing contact lenses, do not wait to remove the lenses.
Begin flushing the eye immediately.
This may wash the lens out of the eye.
Do not try to neutralize the chemical with other substances.
Do not bandage the eye.
Seek immediate medical attention after flushing.
Particles In The Eye
Do not rub the eye.
Try to let your tears wash the speck out or irrigate the eye with an artificial tear solution.
Try lifting the upper eyelid outward and down over the lower eyelid to remove the particle.
If the particle does not wash out, keep the eye closed, bandage it lightly and seek medical care.
Blows To The Eye
Gently apply a cold compress without putting pressure on the eye.
Crushed ice in a plastic bag can be placed gently on the injured eye to reduce pain and swelling.
In cases of severe pain or reduced vision, seek immediate medical care.
Cuts And Punctures To The Eye Or Eyelid
Do not wash out the eye.
Do not attempt to remove an object that is stuck in the eye.
Cover the eye with a rigid shield, like the bottom half of a paper cup.
Seek immediate medical care.
It can be concluded that many eye injuries or eye accidents could have been prevented with the use of proper and correct eye protective wear like safety goggles.
Don't wait until an eye accident happen to you or to your family members while at work or in your home.
Get the appropriate eye protection safety goggles now.
