ISO 7010:2019 / ISO 3864-1
ISO M025 Protect infants' eyes with opaque eye protection Sign
ISO M025 Protect infants' eyes with opaque eye protection Sign means the instruction that an infant's eyes must be covered with opaque eye protection, addressed to the nurses, midwives, and parents caring for the child rather than to the person it protects. Its home is neonatal phototherapy, where blue light treats jaundice through the skin. It should be used where the cited standard, facility risk assessment, SDS, emergency plan, or written safety procedure requires this hazard or safety message to be communicated.
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Reference artwork: Wikimedia Commons · License: Public domain
Technical Data
| Legal Standard | ISO 7010:2019 / ISO 3864-1 |
|---|---|
| Color Codes | #0000FF / RAL 5005 Signal Blue |
| Viewing Distance | 50 mm: close equipment or package label; 100 mm: approximately 5 m; 200 mm: approximately 10 m; 300 mm: approximately 15 m; 400 mm: approximately 20 m. |
| Review Status | approved / last reviewed 2026-07-07 |
| Jurisdiction Scope | Global, United States, European Union |
| Keywords | m025, iso 7010, mandatory, protect, infants, eyes, opaque, eye, protection, signify |
Standard Dimensions Table
| Sign Size | Recommended Visibility |
|---|---|
50 mm | close equipment or package label |
100 mm | approximately 5 m |
200 mm | approximately 10 m |
300 mm | approximately 15 m |
400 mm | approximately 20 m. |
Where This Sign Is Used
Hospitals fix it on or beside overhead lamp assemblies, LED panels, and bassinet-style phototherapy devices, and at the cot spaces where treatment is delivered, so it works as a checklist step: mask on before the lamp comes on. It also briefs parents rooming in with a jaundiced baby, and units may display M007 alongside for staff working close to the lamps.
In-Depth Guidance
A Sign Written for the Nursery, Not the Factory
M025 signifies that an infant's eyes must be covered with opaque eye protection — one of the most narrowly targeted pictograms in ISO 7010, showing a reclining baby wearing an eye mask. Its home is the hospital: neonatal units and maternity wards where newborns receive phototherapy for jaundice. Unlike almost every other mandatory sign, the person it protects cannot read it or act on it; M025 is an instruction to the nurses, midwives, and parents caring for the child.
Neonatal jaundice, caused by elevated bilirubin in the blood, is routinely treated by exposing the baby's skin to blue-spectrum light that converts bilirubin into forms the body can excrete. The treatment works through the skin, so the eyes gain nothing from exposure — but prolonged intense light directed at a newborn's face is a plausible retinal risk, and covering the eyes throughout treatment is standard clinical protocol. Purpose-made soft opaque eye masks or shields, sized for neonates and secured so they stay in place, are what the sign refers to.
Using M025 Around Phototherapy Equipment
The sensible mounting points are on or beside the phototherapy unit itself — overhead lamp assemblies, LED panels, and bassinet-style devices — and at the cot spaces where treatment is delivered. Positioned there, the sign functions as a step in the clinical checklist: eye protection on before the lamp comes on, checked at intervals because active newborns dislodge masks, and removed during feeds and parental contact when the light is off.
M025 also carries a communication role with families. Parents rooming in with a jaundiced baby often handle the mask themselves after a nurse demonstrates, and an unambiguous pictogram at the cot reinforces the one rule that matters: light on means mask on. In units treating international patients, the wordless format does the explaining that a text-only notice cannot.
Relationship to M007 and Optical Radiation Signage
M025 is the infant counterpart of M007, the general sign requiring opaque eye protection for anyone exposed to intense optical sources. A phototherapy room may reasonably display both: M025 governing the patient in the cot, M007 or local procedure covering staff who spend extended time close to the lamps. Facilities running fibre-optic blanket systems, where light is delivered against the skin rather than radiated across the room, should let the device instructions drive whether eye covering is still specified — most protocols keep it for overhead sources.
Where the equipment itself needs hazard marking, W027 (optical radiation) is the matching warning triangle, though in clinical areas manufacturers' device labelling usually fulfils that function. The practical hierarchy is simple: the device label warns, the clinical protocol instructs, and M025 keeps the instruction visible at the exact place and moment a tired parent or float nurse needs it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do babies wear eye masks during phototherapy?
Phototherapy treats newborn jaundice by shining blue-spectrum light on the skin, where it converts bilirubin into forms the body can excrete. The eyes play no part in the treatment, and shielding them from hours of intense light close to the face is standard protocol to protect the developing retina. Soft opaque masks made for neonates are used, checked regularly, and removed when the light is off for feeding and bonding.
Where is the ISO 7010 M025 sign used?
Almost exclusively in healthcare: neonatal intensive care units, special care baby units, and postnatal wards where phototherapy is delivered. It is mounted on or next to phototherapy lamps and at treatment cot spaces, addressed to the staff and parents responsible for keeping the infant's eye protection in place while the light is on.
What is the difference between M025 and M007?
Both require opaque eye protection against intense light, but M007 is the general-purpose sign for adults and workers — laser and IPL rooms, UV equipment, sunbeds — while M025 was added specifically for infants, drawn as a baby wearing an eye mask. In a phototherapy unit, M025 covers the patient and M007 can separately cover staff exposure if the risk assessment calls for it.