Sports Eye Health

Articles

Sep 1

Sports can be great for a child’s health but high risk for eye injury without proper eyewear. Eye injuries are one of the leading causes of blindness among children in the United States. To prevent any eye injuries for your child, make sure they have the correct eyewear for each sport. Most protective eyewear can be made to match your child’s prescription. For the best protection, use eyewear made of ultra-strong polycarbonate. When you find the right eyewear for each sport, it is important to make sure they fit well and are comfortable.

Types of Sports & Risk Factors

Nearly 30,000 sports-related eye injuries are treated in the U.S.each year. Different sports carry different levels of risk for eye injuries. Regular prescription lenses are not helpful for protection against harm while playing sports. 90% of sports-related eye injuries can be prevented with the use of protective eyewear, such as safety goggles, safety glasses/shields, and eye guards. Here’s a list of safety precautions for some of the major sports offered in schools.

Baseball

According to the National Eye Institute, baseball is a leading cause of eye injuries among children 14 years old and younger who play sports in the U.S. With the fastness of the ball movement in baseball, it’s important to make sure eyes are shielded from any additional risk. Since eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children, using eyewear is essential in many sports, but can be extremely helpful in baseball. Sports safety glasses must meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) safety standards. Sports goggles provide the best protection in baseball but they may not fit all faces the same. The best option is certified sports glasses with 3-millimeter-thick polycarbonate lenses. Any player who has vision loss in either eye should always wear eye doctor-recommended protective eyewear to protect their remaining vision.

Hockey

In hockey, it is recommended that players wear the most protective eyewear for the ice rink. Researchers at the University of Toronto and Harvard Medical School predicted that if NHL players wore visors, the number of eye injuries would decrease four-fold. Visors became mandatory for hockey players back in 2006 and in 2013 the NHL and the NHL Players' Association began requiring visors for every player in the league.

Basketball

Basketball is another sport that has majorly impacted people’s eyesight. Studies have shown that from 1990 to 2012 basketball was responsible for nearly 16% of eyesight injuries in this timeframe. To protect yourself while you play basketball, make sure you and your team wear the correct eyewear, protective eyewear made with polycarbonate lenses is the best choice for basketball players and can make it easiest to see.

Golf

A study done in Denver, CO showed the statistics of children who had been injured in golf accidents. The injuries suffered by the children included an orbital fracture (a break in the bones forming the eye socket) in 11 eyes, blood in the eye in four eyes, and damage to the optic nerve in three eyes. Many of these children ended up requiring surgery to regain some level of vision or ended up with less vision before the incident. Most injuries were caused by unsupervised golf matches. The creators of the study said "We recommend close adult supervision, adequate separation between children, and protective eyewear for children learning to play golf” as a way to increase awareness about golf-related injuries.

Water Sports

According to annual data from the organization Prevent Blindness, “more eye injuries occur from pool and water sports than any other category.” These injuries include eye infections, irritations, scratches, or trauma. With the chemicals that are found in pools to keep them hygienic, it’s that much more important to make sure your eyes are protected. Swimming goggles are the best preventative measure to ensure you and your family and friends protect your eyes from the chemicals in the water.

Most Common Types of Eye Injury

Eye injuries can occur in nearly any contact sport. Physical activity can often get competitive for all ages so it’s important to protect sensitive organs from being damaged in any game. The NIH states that every 13 minutes an eye injury is treated in an emergency room in the U.S. Here are some of the most common eye-related injuries:

Concussions: even if the eyes were not involved in the original concussion, your vision can still be affected. If this happens to you or someone you know, see your health care provider.
Retinal detachment: head injuries can often result in a tearing of the retina. Near-sighted (myopic) people are more prone to these injuries. Symptoms include some vision impairment or shade over part of the eye, floating bits in the vision, or a flashing sensation. If not treated quickly, retinal tears can cause permanent vision issues.
Orbital fracture: injuring any of the bones around the eye or cheek can have implications on your eye muscles and vision.
Traumatic hyphema: this is what happens when suffering a direct blow to your eye socket. The force pushes the eye inwards and can cause an injury to the iris. It’s important to treat Hyphema as it can cause other issues like Glaucoma later on in life. 10-year-old boys experience Hyphema more often than others.

Children are most likely to injure their eyes during sports between the ages of 10-17 years old. A lot of physical growth happens in this timeframe and it’s important to teach young one’s the importance of caring for their overall health. Wearing protective gear like eyewear, helmets, padding, etc. you show everyone the importance of making sure to take care of yourself while engaging in recreational activities.

Preventing Sports Eye Injuries

Regular eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contacts don’t protect kids from eye injuries so it’s important that if they have prescription lenses they get the eyewear specific to each sport so that they can see properly and their glasses won’t harm them while they’re playing. Kids can also wear goggles over their eyeglasses.

Protective Eyewear

To reduce the frequency of sports-related eye injuries and blindness, the organization Prevent Blindness strongly supports efforts to ensure that children involved in athletics utilize appropriate safety eyewear for every sport in which they participate. They urge schools to make sure that “Sports eyewear that does not conform to the standards outlined by ASTM and ANSI should be banned by school, community and collegiate sports programs.” They also suggest that appropriate eyewear should be funded as are helmets and other protective sportswear. Anyone who’s had an injury in a sport should see their eye doctor before returning to the activity.