Today's Tip: Clean your goggles!

[Cindy]

I'm probably pointing out the obvious but if you wear goggles, especially with foam gaskets, they should be cleaned regularly. Mine have collected a lot of crud (pollen, irritants) from gardening and being on the boat. Mine are a permanent fixture around my neck or on my face these early summer days and I was appalled at the 'ick' that came off the foam gaskets when I cleaned them today. I don't have any instructions for cleaning other than what came with the goggles...fill a bowl with warm water and 'sozzle' the foam gaskets. I just submerged them and moved them vigorously back and forth in the water. Then I shook off the excess and let them air dry.

[jcorbett]

cleaning

That's funny! I was going to post the same thing and thought it was too obvious! I noticed that my eyes were not that comfortable outside with my protective sunglasses with the foam gaskets on, which is unusual. We have been rather windy and dry lately, with pollen and dust and dirt blowing around. So....I thought maybe all that stuff was trapped in my glasses.....so I rinsed my goggles off with warm water and my eyes were much more comfortable.
Guess it is easy to miss the obvious sometimes!

[Cindy]

Time to clean those goggles again ! Good heavens... ragweed, hot air, cool night air (at least in Michigan),low humidty, high humidity, leaves turning, sneezing, allergies. From one day to the next the change in environment and allergens is pretty amazing. And every last bit of it has collected on the foam gaskets of my Harleys.

[gudrun45]

May I ask what kind of googles you guys use? I do woodworking, and the scrollsaw generates lots of very fine dust. Needless to say, my eyes aren't capable of washing it out and I have to wear goggles (in addition to a breathing mask, of course).
Since I also wear prescription eye glasses, this is a problem. Right now I'm using diver's goggles with an old pair of glasses attached to the outside with a rubber band. Problem is, they don't seal all that well. Also the two types of masks tend to interfere with each other.

Gudrun

[Rebecca Petris]

May I ask what kind of googles you guys use? I do woodworking, and the scrollsaw generates lots of very fine dust. Needless to say, my eyes aren't capable of washing it out and I have to wear goggles (in addition to a breathing mask, of course).
Since I also wear prescription eye glasses, this is a problem. Right now I'm using diver's goggles with an old pair of glasses attached to the outside with a rubber band. Problem is, they don't seal all that well. Also the two types of masks tend to interfere with each other.

Gudrun

There are three lines of wraparound eyewear that have been discussed here recently: Panoptx, Wiley-X and Harley Davidson. Each have of course several designs. I'm not familiar with the Harleys but Panoptx and Wiley-X have some designs with a removeable gasket with the foam strips that keep air and particles out. They all come in prescription. We sell Panoptx in the Dry Eye Shop on this site (www.dryeyezone.com/shop) so there are pictures and information there if you want to get some ideas, otherwise of course there's more details on each manufacturer's website. Panoptx are probably the best-known amongst dry eye patients because the company has specifically tried to target the needs of dry eye patients and did a study on their benefits recently.