If you work in a big construction company, you are likely given all the top-of-the-line protective gear available. After all, businesses do not want to risk employees having preventable accidents. The money they spend on good protective gear is well worth it.
However, if you are starting a small business or simply enjoy DIY, chances are you will settle for less. Most people who are strapped for cash will spend what they have on basic protective gear for the body, but assume that cheap goggles are good enough for the eyes.
Is it really a big deal if you don’t get carefully engineered protective eye glasses?
The risks to eyes at a construction site
Aside from the obvious risk of debris flying into one’s eye, there are a number of other risks to the eyes faced at a construction site.
Chemicals
Anyone working with chemicals needs to be particularly important in how they approach eye protection. Certain chemicals can lead to blindness when they come into contact with the eye even in small amounts. The care taken when working with chemicals needs to stretch to after the work is done, as gear that has been in contact with the chemicals remains a danger.
Dust
While it is easy to keep the risk of flying debris in mind, dust is easier to dismiss. Tiny particles may not seem to make much of a difference in the moment, but can lead to serious damage. Even if they do not do immediate harm, rubbing the eyes afterwards can cause disastrous friction.
Heat and radiation
When working with high concentrations of heat, the eyes are at severe risk. Heat can damage the eyes even if no substance comes directly into contact with them. With regards to optical radiation that comes from heat, regular protection of transparent goggles is not enough.
The risks of cheap protective eye glasses
For the most part, cheap goggles will do the job of keeping debris out. However, when it comes to small particles of dust, as well as chemicals and heat, gaps can become a real problem. Problems are compounded if the eyewear is not made to fit, and slips with sweat or movement.
Carefully engineered protective eyewear will always stay firmly in place. They stay sealed so that small particles of dust do not get in. They also cannot be easily taken off while still in protective gear, so that human error does not lead to damage.
If you are wearing prescription eyeglasses, top tier protection is especially necessary. It is not just the value of chic eyeglass frames for men and women at stake, but the possibility that any breakage will lead to shards from the glasses entering the eye.
Protective gear needs to be made to specification, carefully engineered in consideration of all possible dangers. This is especially true when it comes to protective eyewear. The eyes are a very vulnerable part of the body, and it is well worth the extra money you spend to take proper care of them.