One day, he decided to try out the lower eye shade labelled shade 6, and it seemed clear and comfortable for him. He then decided he would be wearing shade 6 instead of shade 11 as was recommended by the HSE officer.

After a week of constantly welding pipelines, his colleagues noticed his eyes had reddened so much.

Samson thought it was just a usual case of eye redness, and he felt it would clear off after a couple of days.

He kept on using the shade labelled 6. the next day, he woke up with swollen eyes. He went to work wearing sunshades to keep people from noticing the state of his eyes. He then sought permission from the HR manager to visit an eye clinic.

When he got to the clinic, Dr Amadi examined his eyes and asked him a couple of questions.

She asked if he was using the right protective gear for his eyes, and he responded affirmatively.

Considering he checked all the boxes in the doctor’s file, the doctor had to ask him if he had changed his eyeshade at some point. He answered affirmatively, stating he had used shade 11 for his welding jobs but felt it was too dark for him. Then he switched to shade 6 which seemed clearer and more comfortable.

Dr Amadi then instructed him to discontinue shade 6 and return to his original eye shade, as it had done a great job protecting his eyes. It was at that point that Samson understood the importance of abiding by the advice of the HSE officer.

He realised that no matter how uncomfortable protective gear is, it is built for one’s safety.

Dr Amadi prescribed some medications and advised him to go home and rest for a week so the eyes could recover.

Are there instances where you have witnessed similar scenarios in your life?

Please, do share with us.