Prescription safety glasses that are required for work have specific styles of side shields, the plastic pieces that fit on the sides of the glasses and protect your eyes and head from injury. Employers must follow the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) guidelines for safety glasses, and different jobs have different side shield requirements. If your prescription safety glasses have removable or detachable shields, care should be taken when removing the shields.

Hold the frame firmly. For slide-on side shields, start with the right temple (arm). Open the temple and grasp the side shield on the top and bottom. Gently but with moderate pressure, slide the shield down the length of the temple and off the end. Repeat with the left side shield.

  • Prescription safety glasses that are required for work have specific styles of side shields, the plastic pieces that fit on the sides of the glasses and protect your eyes and head from injury.
  • For slide-on side shields, start with the right temple (arm).

Remove a snap-on shield by holding the frame firmly. Open the right temple and grasp the side shield. Gently bend the side shield toward you from the top and then the bottom, with a firm, wiggling motion. The side shield should come off. If it doesn't, slide it slightly down the temple away from the frame and repeat with the bending and wiggling. Remove and repeat with the left side shield.

  • Remove a snap-on shield by holding the frame firmly.
  • Gently bend the side shield toward you from the top and then the bottom, with a firm, wiggling motion.

Remove a temple screw-on side shield by laying the frame on a hard surface on the right temple (arm) with the temple in the open position. The screw holding the side shield in place is located on the inside of the temple. Unscrew the side shield slowly, being careful not to strip out the screw. Repeat with the left side shield.

Take off a side shield that attaches to the top and bottom of the lenses by removing the screws on the top of the shield. For stability, you can balance the bottom of the frame on a hard surface. If the shield is also held in place by screws in the bottom of the frame, flip the frame over and balance the top of the frame on a hard surface while you unscrew the shield.

Do not remove your safety shields if your employer does not permit the side shields to be taken off your prescription safety glasses. Some safety shields are permanent and held in place with metal clips or pins that are not removable.