Healthy Vision Month 2008
Protective Eyewear
Gear Up!
There's more to lose than the game. Use protective eyewear.
Sports-Related Eye Injuries
Sports-related eye injuries represent a significant health hazard in the United States. These injuries account for an estimated 100,000 physician visits per year at a cost of more than $175 million.
At least 42,000 sports-related eye injuries require a visit to an emergency room each year and approximately 13,500 injuries result in permanent loss of sight. According to recent statistics, children aged 15 and under account for nearly one-third of all hospital admissions for eye trauma and 43 percent of all sports and recreational eye injuries overall.
Ninety percent of sports-related eye injuries can be prevented with the use of proper protective eyewear. Protective eyewear includes safety glasses and goggles, safety shields, and eye guards specially designed to provide the correct protection for a certain activity. Correct protection requires meeting the specifications established for a specific sport, such as the American Society for Testing and Materials standards outlined on the American Optometric Association Website. Because ordinary prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses do not provide adequate protection in eye-hazardous situations, and may increase an athlete’s chance of eye injury, safety goggles should be worn over them.
Family physicians, ophthalmologists, optometrists, and all health care providers are critical links in the process of convincing young athletes to use protective eyewear. Eye care professionals have a responsibility to advise patients and athletes about the need to protect their eyes during sporting activities with the appropriate protective eyewear.
Parents and coaches must also advise children to use protective eyewear during sports. Currently, most youth sports leagues do not require the use of eye protection. Parents and coaches must insist that children wear safety glasses or goggles whenever they play.
The table below outlines the risk categories of eye injury for various sports.
| High Risk | Moderate Risk | Low Risk |
|---|---|---|
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Pediatrics Vol. 113 (3), Pages 619-622, Copyright 2004 by the AAP.