You’ve got questions about the medical safety goggles your employer wants you to wear, like why you have to wear them in the first place.
Safety goggles might not be your idea of workplace style, but they’re definitely the right decision in any healthcare setting. We’ll answer all your questions and fill you in on some uber-stylish safety glasses called Stoggles that will change the way you wear your PPE...literally.
It’s no secret that PPE is uncomfortable and just not as attractive as it should be. If comic book superheroes can look good saving the day, medical personnel should get the same chance. Stoggles are the safety glasses with the looks of today and the scientific protection of tomorrow.
Read on for everything you need to know the best in PPE.
Why Do I Need Safety Goggles?
No one likes change, and if you’ve been doing your job for years, it’s a normal reaction to question why you’re suddenly being asked to wear safety goggles.
The truth is, as a healthcare professional, you put your life on the line for your patients every day. When they’re sick, the risk of you contracting their infection is higher when you aren’t fully protected.
Wearing protective eyewear helps make sure spills, splatters, and bodily fluids never make their way to your eyes. Not convinced you’re at risk? Check out the statistics. Each year you’re at your job, your risk of exposure increases and never decreases.
Even though you’re incredibly careful and have never had an accident, the potential is there, the risk is high, and your vision and health are too important to leave to chance. Plus, safety goggles will help protect you from airborne disease. They are more easily transmissible than we’d like to think about.
What Types of Eye Protection Should Be Worn?
Certain hospitals have different protocols regarding eye protection based on patient status, but it’s always a good idea to practice proper PPE techniques. The CDC has several recommendations about PPE for healthcare workers. It is important to regularly check in with this organization as well as your healthcare facility as protocols may change over time.
You may need one type of eye protection for some tasks and a more protective style for another task. The routes of exposure may change depending on what you are doing.
What Are the Common Types of Eye Protection?
There are several different types of eye protection that range from mildly protective to offering full protection, even from airborne pathogens.
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Goggles. Goggles fit over your eye and form a protective seal around them. Goggles usually attach to your face by means of an adjustable head strap.
Goggles protect all parts of your eyes, including the sides and tops (areas where traditional glasses normally have gaps).
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Face Shields. Face shields work by creating a barrier between your entire face and external hazards. Sometimes worn instead of safety goggles, a shield does not form an airtight barrier on your face.
A face shield should offer protection from the crown of your head to below your chin. It should curve around, protecting the sides of your face to your ears.
- Safety Glasses. Normally used for impact protection only, traditional safety glasses may lack side and top shields that protect from splashes and splatters.
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Full face respirators. These types of PPE are designed to protect your respiratory system from airborne pathogens, but their design makes them functional as eye protection, also.
- Stoggles. These are basically the secret weapon of PPE. They come with all the protective powers of safety goggles, all the comfort of safety glasses, and all the style of your favorite everyday eyewear.
Most healthcare professionals won’t need something as protective as full-face respirators, but goggles are uncomfortable and unstylish. It’s time to change the game.
What if You Wear Corrective Lenses?
If you wear corrective lenses, you’ve got options. Most safety goggles are designed to fit over existing corrective frames. Although this option isn’t necessarily comfortable, it is a workable solution in a pinch.
You can also obtain inserts for some safety goggles in your own prescription; however, these inserts are usually moveable, which means they slip and slide while you work.
The best remedy is to ask for eye protection customized with your corrective lens prescription.
Are Medical Safety Goggles Comfortable?
This is the million-dollar question in the safety goggle industry. First and foremost, safety goggles must protect the wearer. However, comfort is extremely important because if your safety goggles aren’t comfortable, it isn’t likely you will wear them.
Most safety goggle users complain of:
- Sizes of safety goggles that don’t fit. Even if straps are adjustable, some safety goggles are simply too large for their faces.
- Discomfort when placed over corrective lenses. The two eyewear pieces rub against one another, causing discomfort.
- Lenses that constantly fog. If your lenses are fogging continually, you’ll have to spend time removing them and wiping them. When you remove your lenses, your eyes are exposed, and you risk contamination of your glasses with dirty fingers.
Not just any medical safety goggles will do, even if they’re very protective. Comfort is the key to making sure they’ll actually be worn.
What Do I Do if My Medical Safety Goggles Fog?
Your employer probably has a procedure for carefully removing and cleaning your safety goggles. If not, remember that you shouldn’t remove your safety goggles with unclean hands, and you shouldn’t remove them while you are still exposed to a potential eye risk.
Safety goggles that fog are incredibly inconvenient and annoying. They pose a safety risk because users are more likely to take them off to wipe them, exposing their eyes to potential hazards.
Instead, opt for safety goggles that have a protective, anti-fog coating.
Are Medical Safety Goggles Good for Home Use?
The last thing you want to do is invest in a good pair of safety goggles and never be able to use them anywhere but work. If your employer isn’t footing the bill, relax. You can grab a pair of safety goggles that protect your eyes at work and at home.
Wearing safety goggles at home is a good idea when you’re:
- Cleaning; especially with harsh chemicals
- Doing yard work
- Making home improvements and repairs
- Playing sports (with a sleek sports strap)
- You can even wear safety goggles when you’re cooking and working with boiling water or hot oil. And yes, they can even help protect your eyes while cutting those tear-jerking onions.
Can Safety Goggles Look Stylish?
We get it. You know you need to wear them, but every time you slip on your safety goggles, you feel your personal style slipping away. Good news. You don’t have to settle for protection over style anymore.
Stoggles are the protective eyewear that wears like glasses, protects like goggles, and looks like your favorite, stylish frames.
Available in square, round, and numerous different colors, Stoggles makes it possible for you to get the medical safety goggle protection you need without feeling uncomfortable or looking awkward.
Our safety glasses are:
- ANSI Z78.1 certified
- Made from lightweight, comfortable polycarbonate
- Coated with anti-fog protection
- Blue-light blocking
- Provide side and top shields
- Impact-resistant
Wearing Stoggles is game-changing, especially for long shifts. Our glasses are so comfortable; you’ll probably want to wear them off-duty, too. And by the way, we make them with your prescription lenses.
I Want To Buy Stoggles for My Entire Team
That’s great! We love wholesale orders. Your team will thank you, and so will we, by offering you competitive prices and the best protective eyewear options available.
Medical Safety Goggles, but Make Them Stylish
You need to wear your medical safety goggles.
Your eye safety is crucial, and your job as a healthcare professional places you at a higher risk of exposure to chemicals, blood, and bodily fluid that can endanger your eyes and have a dramatic impact on your health. But hey, it’s 2021. You don’t have to settle for the same kind of uncomfortable, goofy goggles you wore in your high school chemistry class.
Opt for the personal protective equipment that looks as good as it protects. Stoggles keeps you safe, comfortable, and completely confident.
Sources:
Eye Safety - Eye Protection for Infection Control | NIOSH
BBFE Risks Among Health Care Workers | PubMed
