If you work in a hazardous work environment or need to use tools or equipment at home that could cause potential injury to your eyes then it is a good choice to invest in a quality pair of safety glasses to protect your eyes from injury.

Buying a cheap plastic pair of safety glasses may be suitable for protecting your eyes by flying pieces of grass and dirt while using your weed-eater to trim the edges of your lawn but safety glasses that may need to be used for more hazardous work would need to meet tight industry safety standards. For example a high-quality pair of safety glasses would require a frame made of a lightweight material such as polycarbonate and fitted with durable shatter-proof lenses that are capable of shielding the eyes from hazards like flying shards of metal, chemical splatter and other dangerous projectiles.

Regular glasses should not be worn as protective eyewear for the simple reason the lenses used in regular eyewear do not conform to safety standards and could therefore cause serious injury to an eye if a lens was struck directly with a projectile travelling at speed. To ensure the lenses in prescription safety glasses are made with a toughened glass that meet high impact rating standards an optometrist should be consulted and advise what would be suitable for the type of work conditions they are intended to be worn in.

An optometrist will be able to provide professional advice on what type of safety eyewear would best suit you and can arrange for a pair of safety glasses to be custom made with safety lenses designed to match your regular eye glass specifications. In addition, safety frames made of toughened thermoplastic with top and side shields that can be disconnected are another means that can be used to protect your eyes from dust and other tiny particles that can infiltrate through the top and sides of your eyewear.