Why You Should Wear Safety Glasses

Safety glasses are the best defense workers have against potential eye injuries. This protective item stops or reduces the impact of potential hazards, whether you’re at work, doing chores at home, or taking care of some outdoor work.

When worn correctly, safety glasses can save everyone time and money. Wearing them has a significantly positive impact on a person’s long-term eye health.

With an average of 1,000 eye injuries happening at work each day, along with 40,000 sports-related incidents and 125,000 more at home, the time to invest in this safety equipment is now.

Eye injuries are the most preventable cause of blindness.


Safety Glasses Protects Against Several Potential Hazards

The hazards that exist in any potential workplace create the risk of potential harm to your eyesight. The three primary categories to consider are physical, biological, and chemical.

Hazards exist in every workplace. Some jobs have higher risk factors to consider than others. Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows why safety glasses are an essential personal protective equipment item to wear.

  • Over 40% of workplace injuries involving the eyes occur among craft worker professions, including mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, and general laborers.
  • One-third of the incidents reported each year happen to equipment operators, including sanding and assembly jobs.
  • Although 20% of reported eye injury incidents occurred in the construction industry, almost 50% happened in manufacturing.

About 70% of workplace eye injuries involve falling or flying options. Only 20% include contact with chemicals, with the remainder falling into the biological categories.

From the tools that workers use to swinging objects in the workplace environment, eye injuries can happen suddenly. That’s why you should wear safety glasses. Even if you don’t think an incident will occur, it only takes one injury to impact your sight for a lifetime.


Home-Based Hazards Can Cause Similar Outcomes

Although professionals wear safety glasses while completing their job duties across multiple industries, it’s important to remember that similar hazards can be found at home.

Common injuries that cause sight-related problems at home include wood or metal splinters that form when using power tools, flash issues from welding, and chemical splashes while cleaning.

It’s possible to experience a blunt force or foreign object trauma at home while performing yard work. If you’re having fun with fireworks, playing sports, or shooting a rifle, these incidents are the top causes of entertainment-related injuries that happen to the eye today.

In the United States, about half of the people who receive treatment for fireworks-related injuries seek treatment on the Fourth of July.


What Type of Safety Glasses Should I Wear?

Protective eyewear choices include face shields, side shields, goggles, and standard frames. These products are designed to deliver protection while you complete specific activities.

Well-designed safety glasses protect the eyes against several potential hazards. Although these issues can present themselves unexpectedly, wearing an appropriate product in environments where risk factors are at their highest can still keep individual risk levels manageable.

With the number of safety glass designs available today, it’s much easier to increase your chances of a positive outcome even when accidents occur. Each one has specific advantages to consider.


Safety Glasses Type Benefits of Using This Type of Safety Glasses
Economy Glasses This option provides essential protection options while keeping prices at affordable levels for most people. You can find virtually any category here, including construction and industrial safety glasses. Depending on the brand or manufacturer, several lens types might be available.
Anti-Fog Glasses Whether you’re wearing a mask or find yourself in changing environments, these safety glasses work hard to ensure your sight is always clear. They’re a potential option for those who need construction goggles.
Welding Glasses When you wear safety glasses while welding, you need two protective layers. The slag coming from your piece can fly toward your face, and you have the flash to manage. The right design takes care of these needs effectively and affordably.
Over-Prescription Glasses If you wear prescription glasses, this design gives you effective protection without damaging your current lenses. Although your eyeglasses provide some protection, they don’t have safeguards from the sides. For those who wear contacts, a standard set of safety glasses would still be appropriate.
Shooting Glasses What makes this option unique are the various tints and colors that are available. These safety glasses focus on providing sight clarity while protecting your eyes from the multiple elements that occur near your face while shooting.
Foam-Lined Glasses If you need to wear safety glasses all day long, this design provides additional comfort. You won’t have the same uncomfortable rigidity as you would with a metal frame while reducing wear points on the face caused by other shapes.
LED Lighted Glasses This newer option for safety glasses in construction and other industries provides workers with an opportunity to see what they’re working on with greater clarity. LED manufacturers create clip-on designs that work with several different frame types. A great example of this option is the PMXTREME LED Pyramix safety glasses.

You can select scratch-resistant, mirrored, or anti-fog lenses from several manufacturers for your new safety glasses.


Who Should Be Wearing Safety Glasses?

Anyone who could encounter an environment where a potential injury might occur should consider wearing safety glasses. It’s not just an adult concern. The same hazards that affect your eyesight cause injuries to children.

When parents consistently wear safety glasses, they set a healthy example for kids. Getting into the habit at an early age makes a child’s transition into the workplace much easier – and safer.

Although excuses like safety glasses being unfashionable or uncomfortable to wear were sometimes accepted in the past, there is no excuse to avoid wearing them today. Today’s top brands and manufacturers produce a wide range of designs and options that create individualized choices for almost everyone.

When all the facts about eye injury risks are considered, the choice to wear safety glasses makes sense. Whether you’re at work, doing chores outside, or cleaning at home, you should always take steps to protect your vision. Eyesight is irreplaceable, and the best way to preserve it is to safeguard it proactively.

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