Do Not Put Your Eyes at Risk

Don’t put your eyes, something so highly valued at risk when wearing protective goggles or glasses is so simple, they can make a difference.   

Prevent Blindness America states that each year more than 700,000 Americans injure their eyes at work. Another 125,000 Americans injure their eyes at home.  Another 40,000 American children and adults suffer eye injuries during sports, while many more eye injuries go unreported. Experts say that using the proper safety goggles or glasses could prevent around 90% of all eye injuries. Depending on your lifestyle or work situation your safety goggles or glasses could vary.

Do you know the difference between safety goggles/glasses and regular eyeglasses?

Protective eyewear has to meet a higher standard for impact protection than normal eyewear.  Protective or “safety” glasses can have prescription lenses or normal non-prescription (aka plano) lenses. Regardless of size or durability of the frame and lenses, regular everyday eyewear does not qualify as safety or protective eyewear, unless a specific criteria is meet (aka the higher standard).  The higher standard is more commonly known as the safety guidelines for the workplace, which is established by the United States federal government. The goal of the government is to decrease the risk of injuries on the job.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) acts within the U.S. Department of Labor and oversees safety practices in the workplace and in educational settings.

Which Safety Goggles or Glasses are Best for Home Use?

For those who are independent contractors or even if you are working on your own home, one should choose the frame and the lenses that received the highest rating for high impact to be extra safe while on the job. The high impact lenses can be bought at most hardware, building supply and sporting good stores.

Most safety glasses are made of a very might polycarbonate, which is designed that way for comfort and come in attractive wrap-style frames. Styles that have the highest impact rating will have “Z87” on them.

If you need safety glasses and require prescription lenses you should consult an eye doctor or visit an optical store.

Safety Standards for Eyewear

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Safety standards for eyewear consists of the following features:

• They go through basic impact tests where each lens is test on its own. For the higher impact class, the frame and lenses are together as one.
• Non-prescription lenses are considered to be structurally weaker than prescription lenses when being used for high impact; this is do to the prescription lenses being thicker.
• Safety lenses now have 2 classifications: basic and high impact
• The “Drop Ball” test, which will prove whether the basic impact is passed or failed. This test consists of a steel ball, one-inch in diameter being dropped onto the lens from 50 inches high. In order to pass the test the lens must not crack, chip or break. All safety lenses must go through this test. When using plastic lenses, only a sample of a rather large batch must undergo testing, not every pair of lenses.
• Another high impact test is one where a steel ball, a quarter inch in diameter is launched at the lens at a speed of 150 feet per second. In order to pass the lens must no chip, crack, break and cannot come undone or dislodge from the lens holder.

To determine if a safety goggle or glasses lens have passed the high speed test as described above, you will see a “+” marking, which confirms the lens success for high velocity impact.  You should also look for these markings, “V” and “S”. The “V” indicates that the lens is photochromic. The “S” indicates that the lens has a special tint. In some cases (depending on use or job) some glasses or goggles may require or come with a mild to moderate tint. For example a person or job that requires you to cut or weld might require a thicker lens and a stronger tint.

Eye Injuries in the Workplace

Any job in the U.S. workplace that has potential for airborne particles or noxious chemicals, employers are required to abide by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines. OSHA has guidelines about the workplaces and what type of eye wear and emergency eye care is to be used.

Experts say that over 90% of eye injuries in the workplace can be prevented by taking a few simple steps of precaution and wearing safety glasses. For example, if you use any form of power tool or yard trimming device, you should wear safety glasses. If you wear corrective lenses, hardware stores sell inexpensive goggles that will normally fit over your glasses. There are other more expensive types of glasses that you could also buy.

Eye Safety and Your Air Bags

Most people drive their car everyday and since 1989 when air bags were first required in automobiles, these devices have saved thousands of lives. However, there has been plenty of controversy about the risk and reward of air bags. Though air bags can save your life, when deployed, you could possibly sustain a corneal abrasion or another eye injury from the air bag. However, without the air bag you would be susceptible to much worse injuries. To reduce any risk to your eyes, always make sure that you:

• Make sure you are wearing your seatbelt and it is properly adjusted
• Adjust the headrest for the proper support
• Sit at the minimum, 10 inches away from the steering wheel
• Do not smoke while driving
• Lastly, have children sit in the back, with seat belts properly fastened and if needed, safety seats adjusted to the proper setting.

 
Remember, Safety First! specially when it comes to protecting your eyes.
 

Using the Computer at Home and at Work

Using a computer in the workplace can be a very simple task, but it can cause a strain on your eyes. Avoiding simple things like computer stare and sitting too close to the screen can help prevent this. Computer stare is when an individual forgets to blink for an extended amount of time while looking at the screen. When sitting at the computer you want to follow the 20×4 rule. You want to keep your eyes at least 20 inches away from any screen, take a 20 second break every 20 minutes to look at something at least 20 feet away.

The overhead lighting at your computer can also cause a strain on the eyes if the overhead light is brighter than the light coming from the computer screen. You need to make sure that you keep your monitor up to date, old computer monitors that have low-resolution screens are hard on the eyes.

A persons posture can affect the strain, how one sits, the chair that you use, and having the mouse too far away. One needs to make sure that they sit with straight posture and be sure to not turtle over with their back rounded leaning towards the screen. Make sure that you use a chair that has good support and when using the mouse, keep it close to you and not by the computer screen.