Healthy Vision Month E-bulletin

May 2008/Issue 3

Why Jim Gears Up

Boy wearing protective glasses with basketball

Jim is 8 years old and has been using protective eyewear for the past 2 years when playing sports or doing projects at home. Why? Because his dad, Dr. John Townsend, has seen all kinds of eye injuries in nearly 30 years as an optometrist.

When Jim played hockey, very good equipment was available to protect his face and eyes. It was part of the gear he was required to wear. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for most sports. When Jim played soccer, Dr. Townsend noticed that most of his teammates were not using protective eyewear. It was not uncommon for kids to get kicked or hit in the head and eyes, and Dr. Townsend wondered why more sports do not require the use of protective eyewear like hockey does.

In a recent interview, Dr. Townsend shared his passion about the importance of using protective eyewear and how it troubles him that it is a subject not often brought to the public’s attention.

“Many kids think that getting hit around the eyes or head is just a normal part of growing up,” Dr. Townsend said. “No one really told parents about protective eyewear, so they don’t think about it. In the blink of an eye, their child’s vision can be gone forever. It doesn’t make a lot of sense that kids don’t wear protective eyewear.”

Community Programs: Armed Forces Optometric Society Operation See Victory

The Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS) is an American Optometric Association (AOA) affiliate not-for-profit organization that strives to advance, improve, and enhance eye care provided by optometrists in Federal service. AFOS recently launched Operation See Victory to help reduce sports-related eye injuries in young athletes.

Operation See Victory is part of the AOA Keeping Injuries Down in Sports (K.I.D.S.) initiative sponsored by Liberty Sports. The objectives of the program are to increase awareness about sports-related eye injuries among parents, coaches, and other adults who work with young athletes, as well as to educate children and adults about the availability of protective eyewear and its importance in preventing injuries.

AFOS has developed 250 media kits to help its members promote eye safety and the need for protective eyewear. These kits include color posters and brochures, trading cards, whistles, stickers, and key chains that can be distributed at community events. The kits also contain an interactive DVD that includes a short video about eye safety.

For more information or to order a kit while supplies last, visit www.afos2020.org/TEMP/OSV%20index.htm.

Kids Playing Sports with Protective Eyewear

Tools and Resources

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

See All You Can See—NEI Site for Kids
Visit this website for a variety of activities and resources that provide a fun and stimulating way to educate children about eyes and how to keep them safe.

Coloring Pages (PDF)
Download these coloring pages that promote protective eyewear and give them to kids to color. There are a variety of pages to choose from.

For Parents, Teachers, and Coaches
Visit this webpage for a variety of resources about sports-related eye injuries and the importance of using protective eyewear.

Fast Facts

Eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children in the United States, and most of those occurring in school-aged children are sports-related. Ninety percent of these injuries can be avoided with protective eyewear.
The sports responsible for the greatest number of injuries are baseball, ice hockey, and racquet sports.
Paintball eye injuries can lead to serious and permanent damage. When researchers followed up on eye injuries treated in emergency rooms, 43 percent of players injured reported vision of 20/200 or worse.
Although eye protective devices designed for paintball are extremely effective in preventing injuries, the failure to properly wear these devices has resulted in an alarming number of severe eye injuries.