When to Use Goggles to Protect Your Eyes?

Your eyes are among the most important organs in your body. They're also among the easiest to injure--an errant piece of debris, an ill-placed hand from a sports opponent or a chemical splash can endanger your vision and have you reeling in pain. Protective goggles are useful for preventing eye injury in many situations.

Trade Work

• Wear goggles any time you're dealing with machinery. This includes power saws, wood chippers, metal buffers, weed cutters or any other type of device that sends particles flying at high speeds. Welders use heavy goggles both to protect their eyes from errant particles and to shield them from the bright light of the torch.

Sports

• Wear goggles when playing certain sports. Racquetball players wear goggles to protect their eyes from the ball. Though it is made of soft rubber, it travels at extremely high speeds and can cause severe injuries if it hits the eye. In England, some schools require children to wear goggles during conkers, a popular game in which players try to break each other's game piece--a string with the seed of a horse-chestnut tree tied to the end.

Other Athletic And Leisure Activity

• Use goggles when performing any athletic activity that could damage your eyes or impair your vision. Swimmers wear goggles so they can keep their eyes open under water; this helps them avoid damage from chlorine and other water treatments. Goggles help snowboarders and skiers protect their eyes from the sun's glare, and to shield the face from harsh winds. Motorcyclists wear them to keep dust and debris out of the eyes.

Working With Chemicals

• Wear goggles whenever working with substances that are harmful to the eyes. Chemists, mechanics, plumbers and others who work with toxic chemicals use them to prevent spills, splashes and explosions.

At the Firing Range

• Wear goggles whenever using a firearm. Marksmen wear goggles to protect their eyes from errant cartridges that fly out of guns after a shot is fired.

Night Vision

• Specialized goggles allow the wearer to see in complete darkness. Infrared goggles are common among military personnel who have to carry out missions at night. They are also used for other purposes; film companies, for example, send representatives to movie theaters with night-vision goggles to look around the theater and spot people who are videotaping movies illegally.