MIDDLESEX, N.J. (PRWEB)
October 13, 2019
RX-Safety has been selling both prescription safety glasses and general safety glasses for almost 20 years now online. We have never been able to carry Oakley Prescription Safety Glasses up to this point, in spite of demand, because the company has never had a line that was ANSI Z87+ certified. But the wait is over! Oakley now makes a complete line of safety glasses, all of which meet the ANSI Z87 safety rating requirements, and they are now available online at RX-Safety.com. We are proud to offer the full line of Oakley Prescription Safety Glasses and other Oakley Performance Glasses to our customers. But your question might be why do you need to wear prescription safety or sports glasses?
Prescription safety glasses and sunglasses are necessary proper safety gear for a whole host of activities people engage in every day. Whether you’re gearing up for a long motorcycle ride or earning your paycheck in an industrial environment that includes dangerous workplace hazards, safety glasses or prescription safety glasses are a crucial part of protecting your eyes and face in the long term. It’s critical that you take proactive steps to protect your eyes before they are exposed to serious damage.
What Do Safety Glasses Do?
Safety glasses are designed to provide a barrier between your eyes and harmful debris. That much might be obvious! However, there are very specific standards that safety glasses have to adhere to in order to be sold as certified safety glasses. The type of safety standards they must adhere to depends on the purpose and rating system standards they are held to.
What Kind of Standards Do Safety Glasses Have to Adhere To?
In fact, there aren’t any national standards for safety glasses, technically. However, there are standards that some companies choose to meet in order to prove that their products are certified to keep consumer’s eyes safe, and it also gives them a competitive edge.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a non-profit organization that encourages companies to create products that meet voluntary conformity standards in the United States. They oversee the development of American products, services, processes, and systems. ANSI creates a list of uniform standards that are attached to various products, such as prescription safety glasses. They also create testing guidelines to ensure that the products meet those standards. Their organization examines eyewear and judges whether it meets the durability standards it needs to in order to be considered certified. This stamp of approval means that the safety glasses created by the vendor can be used for a variety of uses including safety gear for employees that meets OSHA’s eye and face protection standards.
If an employer’s business exposes employees to potentially harmful substances, they are required to provide them with proper safety gear. However, employers aren’t allowed to simply hand out a pair of safety glasses to their employees at the door to the factory floor and call it a day. There is a strict set of rules for selecting the face and eye protection that complies with OSHA’s eye and face protection standard which is outlined here- 29 CFR 1910.133. For starters, eye protection has to be selected based on the hazard that employees need to be protected from. Safety glasses that provide adequate protection to an employee from impact might not be protective against chemicals. All personal protective equipment (PPE) has to be certified by the American National Standards Institute and the manufacturer has to legibly mark it as certified.
When Are Businesses Required to Issue Safety Glasses?
OSHA is designed to make sure that employees are not forced to work in unsafe environments. However, that doesn’t mean that businesses are not allowed to use potentially harmful materials. It just means that legally they are required to provide their employees with safety gear that will prevent them from the dangerous debris. Businesses are required to issue safety glasses to employees if there are any workplace hazards that can cause harm to your eyes. For instance, if an employee is working around any of the following substances, the employer is required to provide proper safety glasses according to OSHA standards:
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Harmful chemical gasses or vapors
- Flying particles
- Excessive amounts of dust
- Liquid chemicals
- Acids
- Caustic liquids
- Potentially dangerous light radiation
However, businesses are not allowed to hand their employees a welding mask and call it a day! There is a selection process based on the workplace hazard employees are exposed to, and they also have to provide training for employees that includes the following topics:
- Why the face and eye protection is necessary for their safety in the workplace
- How the improper fit, use, or maintenance of their face and eye protection can compromise its effectiveness and potentially lead to injury
- What the safety glasses can and cannot protect against as far as hazards in the workplace.
- How to use safety glasses in case of a workplace emergency
- How to inspect their safety glasses for damage, put them on, and remove them efficiently
- How to properly maintain and store their safety glasses to prevent damage that could compromise their effectiveness
- What medical signs and symptoms they need to watch for in case of exposure to the workplace hazard.
- The general requirements of OSHA’s eye and face protection standards so they know what type of protective gear their employer is required to provide for them.
When Should You Use Safety Glasses?
There are all sorts of activities you should wear safety glasses for outside of the workplace. You should wear safety glasses anytime you’re exposing your eyes to debris or potential hazards. Potential hazards could include wind, UV rays, dust, debris, or potential impact. These hazards can lead to longer-term damage to your eyes that can cause chronic damage.
If you don’t wear proper eye protection during activities that could possibly expose your eyes to debris, it’s likely that eventually, a piece of debris will cause damage. This damage could span from temporary discomfort due to debris in the eye, to a scratched cornea, to the possible eventual development of a chronic condition that could lead to blindness. However, a much more common side effect of forgoing eyewear is the development of chronic dry eye.
According to the Mayo Clinic, chronic dry eye means that your tears will not be able to provide adequate lubrication for your eyes, which causes a variety of symptoms including discomfort, sensitivity to light, watery eyes, blurred vision, and difficulty seeing at night, among other things. In addition, chronic dry eyes can have the added complication of increasing the likelihood that you will develop eye infections. Eye infections can eventually cause long-term, permanent damage to your eyes, and if the root problem isn’t addressed, your vision could be permanently affected.
How to Pick the Best Safety Glasses for Your Activities
Beyond the workplace, there are plenty of situations where safety glasses should be worn! If you’ll be exposed to wind, debris, projectiles, or bright sunlight, it’s a good idea to incorporate eyewear into your plans. Choosing your eyewear depends heavily on the type of activity you’re planning on doing, and there are a few factors that should go into that.
Outdoor Sports
Prescription sports glasses are a great option for people who enjoy spending time being active in the great outdoors. But chasing a soccer ball or hitting a tennis ball across a court become harder under two conditions- if the sun is so bright you can’t see through the glare and if your prescription glasses won’t stay put! Sports glasses solve both problems by being designed for rigorous activity and providing UV protection. Additionally, they provide protection against the potential damage that a wayward tennis ball could cause.
There are a few things you should take into account if you’re looking for a new pair of sports protection glasses:
- You need to choose the right prescription, of course. Without making sure your prescription is accurate, no matter what glasses you pick, they won’t work for you.
- Physical comfort is one of the main features you’ll want to look for in a pair of prescription sports glasses. The last thing you want is for your eyewear to come loose at a crucial moment. Try on plenty of options to make sure that the glasses you choose actually stay on your head without causing you any level of discomfort.
- Make sure they come with UV protection. Even the best prescription won’t matter if the glare from the sun hurts your eyes.
- Make sure to check for warranty and returns policies to make sure you have options if it turns out the glasses don’t work for you.
- Brand names mean reliability for a lot of people, which is a big reason why RX-Safety is so excited to be offering Oakley’s line of safety glasses. The brand is an important aspect of the product you’re investing in, and you can find a wide variety of brands on our site that will meet your prescription safety glasses needs.
Motorcycle Rides
Wearing glasses during your motorcycle ride protects your eyes from road debris, wind, and the sun, and there are a few options available depending on what kind of helmet you choose.
- Regular Motorcycle Glasses– These are the perfect option for people who choose to wear full-face helmets. Full face helmets provide fantastic protection, but they might not give you the UV protection you need, and visors don’t come with prescriptions. Goggles can be too bulky to fit under a face shield. Motorcycle glasses are smaller and designed to work with full-face helmet types, so they’re a perfect option for people who opt for a full-face helmet.
- Motorcycle Goggles– If you choose to use an open face helmet, you can and should use motorcycle goggles rather than motorcycle glasses to protect your eyes. Open face helmets have less coverage, obviously, so goggles offer both the protection you need from wind and debris as well as standard UV protection to protect your eyes from the sun.
- Prescription Motorcycle Glasses– A pair of standard prescription glasses won’t protect your eyes from impact, wind, or debris the way a pair of motorcycle glasses will. Don’t try to use your glasses as a substitute for certified motorcycle glasses. A pair of prescription motorcycle glasses will keep your eyes fully protected and meet your prescription glasses requirements.
Your eyes are a delicate part of your face, aside from being the window to the soul. Long term damage resulting from a lack of proper eye protection is never worth the risk. Beyond discomfort and chronic dry-eye, the increased risk of infection can cause blindness, among other serious complications. Don’t ever risk eye damage when you’re being active and the great thing is that there are tons of stylish options that will protect your face without compromising your personal look. Whether you prefer Nike, Lacoste, Kate Spade, or our brand new Oakley line, there are plenty of options to suit both your lifestyle and your fashion preferences.
No matter what kind of activity you’re looking to protect your eyes during, RX-Safety has the perfect option for you! You can contact our experts here with questions about what kind of prescription safety glasses will work for you. We’d love to help!
