Why Do I Need Prescription Safety Glasses?

Safety glasses are used to protect the eyes during activities that can involve an eye injury. These makes minimize injury risks during activities like sports, woodworking and some types of art like sculpting, lamp working, quartz working, welding or metalworking, and while on the job in industries like construction.

According to a survey, 10 to 20% of injuries occurring at work result in permanent or temporary vision loss. Therefore, there is a critical need to protect your eyes from any potential injury.

There are many safety eyewears available in the market that can protect against work hazards, including eye injuries from flying bits of glass or metal, chemicals in the air and harmful radiation.

Prescription safety glasses have become a part of the tool kit for many professionals, including the people in the construction trades (e.g. welders), and in military and law enforcement careers.

What is the average cost of prescription safety glasses?

A pair of prescription safety glasses is usually priced between $40-$150. The price will vary based on the frames, coatings, and lenses used. The better the quality more the price will be.

Read More: How Much Does Prescription Glasses Cost?

Common Types of Prescription and Non-prescription Safety Glasses

• Driving Glasses

If your eyes are sensitive and the glare of the headlights bother you while driving at night, you should invest in driving glasses.

Clear lenses with AR Coating are one of the best options for night time driving as it minimizes internal reflections within the lenses, reducing halo problems, and increases the transmittance of light through the lens to the eye. They do a much better job at eliminating a portion of the glare from the headlights than the clear ones. Yellow is another option for night driving lenses. These will sharpen and enhance your viewing area. One negative of these lenses is they give the driver a feeling of seeing better, but on the other hand, the reverse actually happens. However, there is no magic wand that can improve night time driving. Get your eyes examined regularly and wear an up-to-date prescription. If you have regular problems while driving at night, consult an ophthalmologist.

• Computer Glasses

Spending a significant time on your computer? You need to have computer glasses as a protective measure to save your eyes. You can also get the computer lenses in reading glasses and they lessen the symptoms associated with Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).

Headaches, tired eyes, burning eyes, watering eyes, itching eyes, double vision and eye pain are some of the symptoms of CVS. Computer eyewear relieve eye strain headaches caused by eye muscle fatigue.

Read More: How Do Reading Glasses Work?

• Radiation Protection Glasses

Radiation Protection glasses are worn by people who are at potential risk of radiation exposure because of their specific work demands. This protective eye wear is designed for people working in X-ray labs, hospitals, etc. They shield the sensitive parts of the eye from ionizing radiation. The eyes, being the most sensitive area of the body, are most vulnerable to radiation. They should be safeguarded from damage by using high-quality lead glasses for each and every x-ray procedure. Medical facilities should take adequate steps to protect their medical personnel and patients by implementing the use of radiation glasses for hospital, dental practice and x-ray labs.

• Sports Protection Glasses

There are also eye protectors used by sportsmen to protect the eye from insects, dust, wind blast, etc. Skiers should use effective sun shields to protect their eyes from UV rays from the sun. Infection control glasses can be used for protection against eye flu infections. Polarized sunglasses are helpful to fisherman for fishing and for outdoor water sports by reducing the reflective glare.

 

• Protective Sunglasses

People wear sunscreen to protect their skin while going out in the harsh sunlight and wearing sunglasses does the same for your eyes. Exposure to bright sunlight by the naked eye may increase the risk of developing cataracts, age related muscular degeneration and growths on the eye, including cancer.

However, not all sunglasses provide the same eye shield protection. The quality of a good sunglasses should be that it blocks UV rays. Don't be deceived by color or cost. The ability to block UV light is not dependent on the price tag or how dark the sunglasses lenses are. Also, make sure the sunglasses block 100% of UVA and UVB rays. They should also wrap all the way around to your temples so the sun's rays can't enter from the side. Even if your wear corrective lenses, it is important to protect your eyes from the sun's rays.

• Laser Safety Glasses

Moderate and high-power lasers are potentially hazardous because they can burn the retina of the eye. This can be prevented by wearing laser safety goggles when operating lasers. Laser safety glasses provide CE certified laser radiation protection. The comfortable frame style can be used over the top of prescription lenses and has top and side shields to protect the user's eyes from peripheral laser radiation.

Is Prescription Safety Glasses Necessary?

Safety eyeglasses have a lot of differences to regular glasses. The frames on safety glasses are much bigger and thicker than on normal glasses. The lenses are also much stronger and durable, and they will protect your eyes better.

Today's safety glasses are usually made of polycarbonate, plastic or a special shatter proof glass that are strong enough to protect eyes from various injuries and dangers. The glass lenses do not scratch easily but can become quite uncomfortable due to their weight. On the other hand, plastic lenses are much lighter than the glass but are also more likely to get scratched.

There are many designs available to protect eyes from flying debris, splatters and other hazardous materials. Finally, Polycarbonate lenses are stronger and more impact resistant and scratch resistant compared to the plastic and glass types.

There are different types of safety glasses that you can choose from depending on your specific needs. There are both, prescription and non-prescription safety glasses, safety goggles, specialized face shields, welding helmets and full-face respirators. The type of safety eyewear that you should use greatly depends on the activity at hand. They can be used to protect eyes from blood splatters, sawdust, flying debris, hazardous fumes, ultraviolet light, infectious chemicals and even insects that may irritate the sensitive eyes.

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On a decidedly practical side, a number of occupations require the use of these types of prescription safety glasses. Regardless of the reason that you wear prescription safety glasses, they do tend to be a bit more expensive than normal glasses. But at Optical Factor, you can purchase safety glasses to your own prescription, and what's more at a very low cost. A variety of styles and colors are available.