6 Benefits of PPE Goggles For Those in Healthcare
If you work in the healthcare industry and think that wearing your regular corrective eyeglasses to work in place of personal protective equipment safety goggles, you will definitely want to reconsider. Everyday eyeglasses don’t even come close to providing you with the same level of protection as certified medical eye ppe goggles. All healthcare workers should wear safety glasses as they can protect from unexpected splashes, protect your eyes from dangerous exposures, improve your eye health, and more. Here are six benefits to wearing proper PPE goggles for your job in the healthcare industry:
Protects from unexpected splashes
Your everyday eyeglasses may offer your eyes a little bit of protection against splashes and splatters, but medical eye protection covers areas that your standard eyeglasses leave exposed. Medical safety glasses provide a side shield that connects each lens to the frame, covering your temples and preventing a rogue splatter from entering your eye through the side. They’ll also have a top shield that protects the area between your brow bone and the top frame of your glasses.
Stay safe from dangerous exposures
Medical professionals are exposed to different levels of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation daily. Even in your everyday life you can be exposed to differing types of radiation. Did you know that microwaves, tanning beds, and radio waves all expose us to non-ionizing radiation? And x-rays, gamma rays, and some UV rays expose us to ionizing radiation. Medical eye protection can protect your eyes from certain levels of non-ionizing radiation, providing you one less thing to worry about while at work. You’ll know how much protection you’re getting by looking at the marking on the frame. If you see an “R” on the frame of your safety glasses, that indicates they provide protection against radiation, and the corresponding number tells you just how much protection you’ll get.
Be immune to unexpected impacts
If you accidentally drop your regular pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses on the floor, it’s a safe bet that you’ll need to go shopping for a new pair later that day. Everyday eyeglasses aren’t typically tested for impact resistance unless you specifically buy impact-resistant lenses. Medical eye protection is often impact-resistant and shatterproof. Most lenses and frames are made from polycarbonate material and tested to withstand high-velocity impacts, similar to the type of impact you might receive from a violent and combative patient or a piece of flying debris in an orthopedic operating room.
Beat the heat
Not all medical eye protection is heat resistant, but some pairs of safety glasses are. You can find out by checking the markings on the glasses themselves. The American National Standards Institute works closely with OSHA to determine standards for safety glasses, including marking for the glasses so that the level of protection they provide is easily identifiable. You’ll know these glasses have the protection you need by the Z87.1 marking on the product. If your glasses are marked with the Z87.1 standard, you can rest easy knowing that they have been tested to withstand high temperatures.
Improved eye health
Ultraviolet rays can damage your vision and may even cause early-onset vision loss due to macular degeneration. It’s important for healthcare workers to protect themselves whenever they may be exposed to these rays. Keep in mind that you could be exposed to them from certain types of medical equipment. The use of UV light to sterilize tools is quite common in the healthcare industry. Your eyes should be protected each and every time you use a UV tool. Even if you’re incredibly careful, there’s always an opportunity for you to be exposed to UV light. Never handle UV ray equipment without protecting your eyes.
Medical eye protection has specialized lenses that protect your eyes from UV rays. If you’re wondering, “don’t my sunglasses do that?” You’d be right to question this because yes, they do. However, it will be pretty hard to see what you’re doing when you’re looking through dark sunglasses. You might not realize it, but the level of UV protection your glasses offer doesn’t correlate to the darkness of your lenses. In fact, you can have 100% UV protection on clear lenses.
Stay on task
If you’ve ever had your glasses fog up while you’re working on something that requires a lot of focus, you understand how frustrating it can be to have to remove them to wipe them. Unfortunately, if your glasses are fogging, you can’t see what you’re doing so you have to take them off. Not only is this annoying, but it can be dangerous as you’re potentially exposing your eyes to chemicals and pathogens by taking the glasses off. Anti-fog coating on modern safety glasses keeps your glasses from fogging no matter what you’re doing, so you can focus on your work.
