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April 2008/Issue 2

Using Protective Eyewear Can Save More Than Eyesight

Girl wearing protective glasses with basketball In a split second, Christian O’Connell’s life changed forever due to a sports-related eye injury that might have been avoided if he had used protective eyewear.

“As Christian was running toward a ball that popped up in the air [during an unruly soccer game], one of the other team kicked it at eye level,” said Mr. O’Connell, “The ball traveled no more than three feet before it hit my son in his left eye with sickening impact. Thus started a three-year odyssey in which he had seven major eye operations that have left him functionally blind in that eye.”

After the surgeries, there were sometimes daily visits to the eye doctor. And, for almost four years, Christian had to go to the eye doctor every week. The need for the follow-up care meant that Christian and his parents invested a lot of time travelling to and from his appointments. Christian has lost so much time at school, he is still behind academically.

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Community Programs – Michigan Eye-Bank See to It Program

Michigan Eye-Bank Logo

The Michigan Eye-Bank received a Healthy Vision Community Award in 2007 for its See to It program. This program educated elementary school children and their families about the importance of using protective eyewear while engaging in activities that have the potential for causing eye injuries. The program had a school-based component involving a teacher-led discussion, and a community-based component promoting protective eyewear at family-oriented events.

The Michigan Eye-Bank developed a program toolkit, poster, hand-held game, and sticker to support its educational efforts. The Eye-Bank marketed the program to schools and communities throughout Michigan and supported its educational efforts with newsletter articles, news releases, and a radio public service announcement. The Eye-Bank also worked with its local Lions clubs to develop and distribute a flyer about the program.

The Michigan Eye-Bank is a division of Midwest Eye-Banks, an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the restoration of sight. For more information, visit http://www.michiganeyebank.org/.

Kids Playing Sports with Protective Eyewear

Tools and Resources

Use these resources to inform children, teachers, parents, and coaches in your community about preventing sports-related eye injuries and the need for protective eyewear.

Children’s Eye Safety Calendar (PDF)
Download or order this fun, colorful calendar. School-aged children will enjoy reading fun facts about eyes and eye injuries, as well as sports trivia.

Sports-Related Eye Injury PowerPoint Presentation and Speakers’ Guide (PDF) This PowerPoint presentation is designed to inform parents, coaches, teachers, and other adults about sports-related eye injuries, the cost of eye injuries, eye safety, and the need for protective eyewear.
The presentation includes a speaker’s guide with background information and statistics.

Fast Facts

Basketball is a leading cause of sports-related eye injury in athletes aged 15 to 24. The odds of an eye injury for basketball players are one in 10.
As of July 2007, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) field hockey players are permitted to wear a face mask, soft protective head covering, or eye protection in the form of plastic goggles.
In 1980 dollars, the hockey face protector saves society $10 million a year by preventing approximately 70,000 eye and face injuries in 1.2 million protected players.
Eye injuries were a frequent occurrence in women’s lacrosse before the NCAA mandated the use of protective eyewear in 2007. Before protective eyewear was required, eye injuries occurred 15 times more often in women’s lacrosse than in men’s.