The eyeball is approximately 2.5 centimeters in diameter and shaped like a sphere. The eye can move in the eye socket thanks to six different muscles. The eyeball is hollow and contains a gel-like fluid called the vitreous humor. The eye also consists of several different membranes that together collect all impressions, and through the optic nerve, these nerve impulses end up in the brain's visual center, and we see. 5/6 of the eye is protected by the eye socket's skeleton, but the rest is unprotected. The eyelids, eyelashes, and tears are some natural defenses that we have.
Our eyes have fantastic visual ability where we see close and far away. We see colors, and the brain interprets everything that the eye sees. The eye is directly connected to the brain, and damage to the eye can have significant consequences. The eye is shaped like a small sphere called the eyeball. Around the eyeball, there is adipose tissue that protects the eye. There are six small muscles around each eye that allow you to move your eyes and look in different directions. Approximately 1/6 of the eye is directly exposed to dangers that we wish to protect!
We are exposed to many different kinds of risks. It can be mechanical, chemical, or radiation of various kinds, and our natural defenses are not sufficient to protect the eyes. We have all gotten dirt in our eyes at some point and know how difficult it is to remove and how painful it can be.
Splashes of chemicals, both alkaline and acidic, cause damage to the eye. It can lead to impaired vision to blindness, not to mention how painful it is. Mechanical injuries, for example, caused by a machine, can cause a particle to come flying at high speed and hit the eye. A pair of regular glasses designed to correct a vision defect are not able to protect. Radiation of various kinds, such as UV or IR radiation, can cause cataract diseases. Welding flashes caused by looking at a welding flame without any protection cause damage to the cornea and are painful. Likewise, if you are in bright sunlight reflecting off snow or white sand. This is called snow blindness. This is also painful and causes the same damage as welding flashes. Both are easy to prevent by using the right eye protection.
If you cannot enclose or prevent the risk, a suitable eye protection must be used. All eye protection is tested in laboratories and must pass various tests. They should be able to stop particles that come at high speed towards the eye protection. A 6 mm steel ball is usually shot at 45 m/s or 162 km/h at the safety glasses. Basket glasses and visors should withstand the same steel ball at 120 m/s or 432 km/h. If we are hit by something at these high speeds, we understand that closing our eyes is not sufficient protection. At the same time, the eye protection must be optically neutral so as not to cause refractive errors.
Choose eye protection based on the risks present in the work environment. Also, make sure that people working around you protect themselves. We offer many different types of safety glasses with different lens types and lens coatings. Sometimes it is not enough to just protect the eyes, but you need to protect the entire face using a face shield. Welding shields must be used when welding to avoid very serious injuries.
