For those in the medical profession, protective gear has become even more important than every day piece of clothing. Before now, hospital staff and healthcare workers did not see the need to compulsorily put on safety eyewears. However, since the advent of the coronavirus and other transmissible viruses, healthcare workers have been mandated to always put on protective gears while working.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates that employers provide appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their staff.
The eye is arguably the most delicate organ in the human body and protecting it while at work is one of the most critical things to do. Workers in hazardous environments are even at higher risk of having visual complications.
What are Medical Safety Glasses
Medical safety glasses (What Are Safety Glasses) or safety goggles are a form of protection used to shield the eye from work hazards in medical environments. These glasses are designed to completely seal every space around the eyes providing you with 100% protection from liquid splashes and gaseous vapor.
The primary use for which medical safety glasses are needed is to shield the eyes and by extension the face (Medical Supply With Similiar Functions: Face Shield) against flying fragments, irritating mists, vapors, fumes, harmful gasses, large chips, and particles. Safety glasses protect the whole face from getting exposed to impact hazards.
Why Should Medical Professionals Wear Safety Goggles
Certain degrees of injury can be sustained in the eye as a result of exposure to dust, debris, and airborne chemicals. Medical professionals can sustain significant injuries ranging from minor to fatal if their eyes are exposed while carrying out their duties.
Direct contact with hazardous materials and in some particular harmful chemicals can cause injuries to the eye. These injuries usually take place when health workers and medical professionals do not wear safety glasses or use the incorrect medical protective eyewear. Using the wrong safety glasses allows for exposure around and under the eye.
In a case where a lab attendant or medical laboratory scientist is running tests using acidic chemicals, the vapor alone is harmful to the skin let alone the naked eye. It could get worse if these chemicals splash on their face.
Nurses also happen to be victims of eye injuries while at work. Let’s take a look at some of these facts from researches carried out by the International Safety Center’s Exposure Prevention Information Network;
- Everyone in the medical profession is susceptible to Blood and Body Fluid Exposures (BBFE). However, nurses who are stationed at the unit where patients are to remain under constant care (acute-care settings) have been recorded to be the most vulnerable to BBFE.
- Over 80% of the time, BBFE occurs on the face. 60% usually gets into the eyes.
- Of the nurses that reported BBFE, only 8% admitted to wearing protective medical glasses.
According to an ophthalmologist, Dr. Anne Sumers, who is also the clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), 90% of all eye injuries that occur in the workplace can be prevented simply by putting in the appropriate eye protection.
The risk adjoined to leaving the eyes exposed while working in the medical field is very high. Healthcare worker goggles are a necessity in medical settings. Medical professionals should always protect their eyes as an impaired vision could have adverse effects in their careers.
5 Best Prescription Safety Glasses for Medical Professionals
There are lots of safety glasses in circulation, however not all of them are suitable to be used by professionals in the medical field. Now, let’s take a keen look at some of the best prescription safety glasses for healthcare workers.
1. Polarized Medical Goggles
Being temporarily blinded by a sharp glare or reflected light can be really annoying especially during a medical operation. This situation is very dangerous because at that moment, errors could occur on the part of the health worker. But with polarized medical glasses, it can be prevented.
Polarized medical safety goggles contain a special kind of chemical that filters bright and sharp lights. They block lights with horizontal orientations and allow the vertical light to pass through the shades thereby eliminating the glare.
When in a medical environment, light usually bounces at certain angles off the uneven surface of an object. When this light hits right into the naked eye, that is what is referred to as a glare. Although temporary, a glare at times can be very disastrous and a repeated recurrence could cause a potential long-lasting injury to the eyes.
Polarized medical glasses are one of the best safety glasses for healthcare workers to help reduce the glare of light around.
Also, polarized medical safety glasses have in-built Ultraviolet protection, which is very important in a pair of safety goggles.
2. Anti Fog Medical Safety Glasses
Anti fog safety glasses are one of the most common and best safety goggles for healthcare workers. With the advent of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the demand for these glasses have spiraled higher than ever before.
Anti fog safety glasses are a basic part of PPE equipment. Eyewears that are foggy tend to cause a lot of inconvenience to medical professionals and pose dangerous work hazards to them.
Medical workers usually complain that fogging lenses are the number one reason why they usually remove their safety glasses or do not even put them on at all. Not putting on safety glasses is a huge risk, but putting on fogging safety glasses is even a bigger risk.
Fogging is usually caused by temperature change, humidity, face coverings, and body heat. The only solution to this is wearing anti fog safety glasses. Kemei is a one of the leading medical goggles and surgical gloves manufacturers that specializes in the production of these kinds of medical safety glasses. Their advanced anti-fog technology offers 99.9% UV protective safety glasses using lens-coating agents to manipulate moisture from the surface.
3. Shatter-Resistant Medical Safety Glasses
This is a protective eyewear for healthcare workers. It is one of the best and most comfortable medical safety glasses you can find anywhere as it comes with a polycarbonate lens that’s resistant to shatter.
The frames of shatter-resistant goggles are made of very soft material. The softness, however, does not question its efficacy or durability. It is made from durable plastic to provide medical workers with maximum comfort while working without compromising on protection.
The edges are lined with a highly compact face foam to make room for comfort and adequate ventilation. Shatter-resistant safety glasses are 100% UV protected from harmful UVA and UVB rays.
4. Chemical Resistant Medical Safety Goggles
This type of safety goggles are mostly used by medical professionals who work in an environment that involves gas emissions or with high levels of toxic wastes. None of the other medical safety glasses can be used in place of chemical resistant glasses because of their special properties.
Chemical resistant safety glasses are impact-resistant and worn in situations where there is potential for some hazardous chemicals to splash.
5. Transparent Safety Goggles
Transparent safety goggles for healthcare workers is the last but not the least of the five best medical prescription goggles for medical professionals. It is a perfect eyewear for the healthcare workers as it offers a free, wide, and full view of the front and the both sides.
They are one of the safest glasses to use at work as it prevents chemicals, flying debris, and other dangerous materials from getting into the eyes.
Transparent safety goggles for medical professionals from a reputable medical glasses factory ensures that medical workers are always away from harm’s length.
These eyewear is made of high quality material and assures full protection from every kind of medical environment hazard. They are available in different kinds of comfortable and attractive designs.
Characteristics of the Best Medical Safety Glasses for Healthcare Workers
Some major characteristics that the best medical safety glasses for healthcare workers must have are:
- Indirect ventilation; marked as ANSIZ87 D3.
- Meets all OSHA standards on workplace safety.
- Wearable during operations with low-risk splash.
FAQs
Why Don’t Nurses Want to Wear Safety Goggles?
Most times, the reason nurses don’t want to wear protective eyewear for nurses is that many of the goggles have the wrong design, hence tend to inconvenience them. Another reason why they don’t want to wear it is fogging.
What Does it Mean When Safety Glasses Have Been Approved by OSHA?
When safety glasses have been approved by OSHA simply means that the glasses have met all safety rules and guidelines and are safe for use.
What Are the Best Prescription Safety Glasses Brands?
There are a lot of prescription safety glasses brands but the best remains Kemei, a medical disposable manufacturing company that specializes in making quality medical safety glasses and other medical-grade disposable healthcare supplies.
