Eye protection is protective gear for the

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

s, and sometimes face, designed to reduce the risk of injury. Examples of risks requiring eye protection can include: impact from particles or debris, light or

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...

wind blast Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

, heat, sea spray or impact from some type of

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

or puck used in sports. Eye protection are typically separated into categories based on the style of eye wear and the hazard they are designed to reduce. There categories include: Spectacles with side protection;

Goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

; Welding helmet; Welding Hand Shields; Non-Rigid Helmets (hoods); Face shield; and Respirator Face pieces.

Styles

Spectacles

Safety glasses or spectacles, although often used as a catch-all term for all types of eye protection, specifically revers to protective equipment that closely resembles common eye wear. To meet most national standards, spectacles must include side shields to reduce the ability of debris to get behind the lenses from the side. Safety glasses can often mount insert frames to mount prescription corrective lenses for users with suboptimal vision. Such insert frames are mounted behind the protective lens. In some applications, regular eye wear, if manufactured from high-impact materials, can be worn with removable side shields. Oversized spectacles are also manufactured, designed to sit over the users normal eye wear.

Goggles

are forms of protective eyewear that enclose the eye area in order to prevent particulates, infectious fluids, or chemicals from striking the eyes. Goggles come in two styles, eyecup goggles, and cover goggles. Eyecup goggles completely cover the eye socket to give all-round protection. They have adjustable or elasticized headbands and often are equipped with ventilation ports to allow air in and prevent fogging. For example, swimming goggles to protect the eyes from salt or

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is ...

. Cover goggles are designed to be worn over eye wear. Like eyecup goggles, they have adjustable or elasticized headbands and are equipped with direct or indirect ventilation ports to allow air in and prevent fogging. While both models keep out large particles, indirect-vented goggles are better at keeping out liquids and dusts.

Welding helmets and shields

A welding helmet is a type of headgear used when performing certain types of welding to protect the eyes, face and neck from flash burn, ultraviolet light, sparks, infrared light, and heat. A welding hand shield is a metal plate containing the same protective lens as a welding helmet with a handle on the bottom, intended to be held up in front of the face while working.

Hoods

Hoods (or non-rigid helmets) come with impact-resistant windows usually made of plastic or similar material. An air-supply system may also be incorporated. Hoods are made of non-rigid material for use in confined spaces and of collapsible construction for convenience in carrying and storing.

Face shields

A face shield is a device used to protect wearer's entire face (or part of it) from hazards such as impact, splash, heat, or glare. With face shields, as with welding helmets and hand shields, the user is continually lifting and lowering the visor. To protect the eyes when the visor is lifted, spectacles should be worn underneath.

Respirator face pieces

A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling particulate matter, including airborne microorganisms, fumes, vapours and gases.

Use screen filters

Using special screen filters to the front of your device can reduce the amount of digital blue light emitted from your device. Now it is available on the market like – mobile screen protector, computer screen protector for reducing blue rays from electronic devices.

Protection categories

Flying objects

Flying particles, dust, and wind

Heat, sparks, and splash from molten materials

Acid splash; chemical burns

A large percentage of eye injuries are caused by direct contact with chemicals. These injuries often result from an inappropriate choice of personal protective equipment that allows a chemical substance to enter from around or under protective eye equipment. Serious and irreversible damage can occur when chemical substances contact the eyes in the form of splash, mists, vapors, or fumes. When working with or around chemicals, it is important to know the location of emergency eyewash stations and how to access them with restricted vision. When fitted and worn correctly, goggles protect your eyes from hazardous substances. A face shield may be required in areas where workers are exposed to severe chemical hazards. Personal protective equipment devices for chemical hazards: * Safety goggles: Primary protectors intended to shield the eyes against liquid or chemical splash, irritating mists, vapors, and fumes. * Face shields: Secondary protectors intended to protect the entire face against exposure to chemical hazards.

Abrasive blasting materials

Glare or stray light

The human eye is sensitive to intense light because it damages the retina and can even blind the individual. There are many different types of eye protection against light suited for different applications. The most common forms of eye protection against light are

sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...

. These primarily protect against UV light from the sun and help increase visibility in bright conditions. They often tend to be fashionable as well as practical.

Injurious optical radiation (Moderate)

Laser protection eyewear Laser radiation safety is the safe design, use and implementation of lasers to minimize the risk of laser accidents, especially those involving eye injuries. Since even relatively small amounts of laser light can lead to permanent eye injuries, t ...

will filter out a particular (or small range of) wavelength(s), customized to the

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...

being viewed. Laser protection eye wear is particularly important because of the extremely high intensity of laser light.

Injurious optical radiation (Severe)

Welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as br ...

glass protects against glare and flying sparks. It is a more extreme implementation of the same idea as

, suited to the more intense light generated during

welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as br ...

. Arc welding goggles must be much darker than blowtorch goggles. Shades 12, 13, and 14 welding glass must be used to stare directly at the sun or a solar eclipse. These higher index shades are suitable for arc welding and therefore are suitable for solar viewing.

Sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...

will not provide sufficient protection.

Other protection

*Eye protectors used in

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

s like

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

and cycling to protect

eyes Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and c ...

from

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

dust Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ...

and wind blast. *Infection control glasses *Eye shields used in

External beam radiotherapy External beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is the most common form of radiotherapy (radiation therapy). The patient sits or lies on a couch and an external source of ionizing radiation is pointed at a particular part of the body. In contrast to brachyt ...

to shield sensitive parts of the eye from ionizing radiation

Helmets and visors

Some helmets and visors also protect the eyes: * Armor visors were used in conjunction with some

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

war helmets to protect the eyes from impact. * Batting helmet with full face coverage is used by the catcher in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

and softball games to protect the eyes and face from impact. * Eyeshield is a piece of football equipment which attaches to a player's helmet to protect the eyes from impact. * Fighter pilot helmet includes a visor for protection from the sun and from wind blast in case of an ejection from the aircraft. * Some firefighter's helmets have visors which protect the eyes from infrared rays and the radiant heat of fire as well as from impact. * Hockey helmets have visors, shields, cages and masks to protect the eyes and face from impact. *

Hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

helmets protect the eyes from the ball and from near contact with other players. * Lacrosse helmets used in men's lacrosse have a cage to protect the face and eyes from impact. * Lifeboatman's helmet has a transparent visor to keep sea spray out of the eyes. * Motorcycle helmets and Bicycle helmets have face shields that protects the eyes against wind blast, dust, insects and impact in the event of a crash. * Racing helmets also have face shields (narrower than motorcycle helmets) to protect against fire and impact. * Riot protection helmets have visors to protect the eyes and face from projectiles and impact. *

Safety helmets A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the Human head, head from injury due to falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, rain, and electric shoc ...

, also called hard hats, used by

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, Log bucking, bucki ...

operators and construction workers often have visors to protect the eyes from impact. * Space suit helmets have gold-impregnated face shields to protect astronauts from the direct rays of the sun.

Gallery

Image:SafetyGlassesShield.jpg, Safety glasses Image:Sunglasses-1.jpg, Sunglasses Image:US_Navy_020202-N-5563S-001_USS_Blue_Ridge_-_Welder.jpg, A U.S. Navy sailor using welding glasses Image:Eclipsbrilletje.JPG,

Solar eclipse glasses Solar viewer (also known as solar viewing glasses or solar eclipse glasses) are special eyewear designed for direct viewing of the Sun. Standard sunglasses are unable to filter out eye damaging radiation. Solar viewers are required for safe view ...

Image:Seal Swim Goggles.jpg, Swim goggles Image:Military laser experiment.jpg, A U.S. military scientist using laser protection eyewear Image:Eye-shield.jpg, Infection control eye protection U.S._Navy_sailor_aboard_USS_McKee%2C_c._1999.png, U.S. Navy sailor wearing eye protection in the late 1990s File:UVEX S3300 Genesis XC protective eyewear.jpg, U.S. Military Combat Eye Protection (MCEP) glasses with an inserted optional prescription lens carrier.The Science Behind Glasses - How Does Vision Work?)
/ref> Image:Piers Sellers spacewalk.jpg, The

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

-impregnated faceshield of

spacesuit A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

s protects astronauts from direct Sun rays. Image:Millward0004 211.jpg, Anna Millward wearing a cycling helmet and eye protectors Image:Surgeon wearing loupes with blood spatter.jpg, Surgeon wearing loupes as eye protection from

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in th ...

spatter

References

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