If you wear prescription glasses, then you should know that your glasses are more than just a tool to help you see like everyone else. Glasses are so vogue that even people who don’t have a prescription are choosing to wear them. But beyond that, your glasses function as a personal fashion accessory and a unique aspect of your appearance. It’s important to find frames and lenses that flatter your face in order to look your most stylish.
If you work in a profession that requires safety glasses—like nursing, medicine, construction, or electricity—you might be forced to sacrifice your unique style for industry-standard safety goggles. You may wear safety goggles over contacts or even double up and wear safety goggles over your prescription glasses. Fortunately, prescription safety goggles exist to help you make a fashion statement while still protecting your eyesight. Prescription safety goggles come in a variety of frame sizes and styles to fit the shape of your face and eyes, from round and square frames to aviator and cat-eye shapes. You can choose a different frame color to match your scrubs, uniform, or lab coat on different days of the week.
It’s great to know that you have style options when choosing prescription safety goggles, but how can you be sure that your safety goggles are up to industry standard and appropriate for your lab or workplace? As long as you ask yourself these questions and conduct some research prior to purchasing a pair of prescription safety goggles, you will be able to find practical safety goggles that also look good.
You need prescription glasses to help you see—that’s a given. But you have multiple responsibilities at your job, so why shouldn’t your glasses have the same? In addition to helping you see and protecting your eyes from potentially dangerous chemicals or particles, you want safety glasses that fit your job description. Do you spend most of your time working outdoors on the road, in fields, or with power tools? You might want to find prescription safety goggles with UV protection to keep your eyes shielded from the sun so you can work without the sun in your eyes.
If you work outdoors in rainy climates or wear a mask while you work, you may suffer from your lens fogging. Anti-fog lenses can help prevent this.
If you’re wearing your glasses while running, biking, or maybe something even more adventurous like mountain climbing, you may want to find safety glasses with top and side shields to keep your eyes protected from dirt, wind, and other debris.
If you work indoors, you may still require eye protection. If you spend a lot of time on the computer in between shifts working at a lab or hospital, you might seek out blue light-blocking glasses to help you avoid headaches from long hours of screen exposure.
Whatever your profession, you can find safety glasses that fit your job description—and your sense of style.
2. Do My Safety Glasses Fit the Z87 Standard?
If you work in a lab, you probably had a lesson on lab safety that taught you about the industry standard for safety glasses. Just as a refresher, the Z87 Committee on Safety Eye and Face Protection and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) set the standard for eyewear in US professions that require them. In fact, they create the standard not just for safety goggles, but also for spectacles, face shields, and welding helmets in professions such as manufacturing and lab research. In order to be certified as Z87, safety glasses must pass an impact test in which a steel ball is dropped on top of them.
Your safety glasses will probably be exposed to daily wear and tear and maybe even someone sitting on them, so you want them to hold up over time. If you work in manufacturing or with power tools, it’s even more important that your safety glasses can withstand falling debris.
3. Can I Wear These Glasses For Eight Hours A Day?
Comfort is a priority when you choose your regular prescription glasses, so you should put the same care and consideration into finding the perfect pair of safety glasses. If you work in a hospital, lab, or factory, you may only get short breaks during which you can switch out your safety glasses for your regular glasses or contacts. Find a trusted eyewear company that communicates with you about the size and shape of your lenses and frames. Try out your new safety glasses for a few hours at home before taking them to work so you can ensure that they’re comfortable to wear for those long shifts.
Conclusion
If you work at a hospital, lab, or manufacturing facility that requires safety glasses, you should take pride in knowing that you’re keeping yourself safe in order to provide a better product or service for others. Even so, you can rest assured that choosing a profession you love or participating in sports doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice fashionable eyewear in exchange for your safety. It is possible to have both, and prescription safety glasses will provide you with all the eye protection you need to work and play without worry.
