Keep your eyes safe!
April is the Academy of Ophthalmology’s “Eye Safety Month”, designed to draw attention to sports, toys, and other activities which may pose a risk of an eye injury and to educate the public in injury prophylaxis. Most eye injuries are preventable. Almost 50% of injuries occur during sports and recreational activities and most occur in children and teenagers.
Sports with high speed ball action pose the greatest threat of ocular injury particularly raquetball, squash, baseball, lacrosse, hockey, soccer and basketball. Protective glasses or face shields are available for most sports—a ‘sports frame’ with polycarbonate lenses is the best option. Safety eyewear must meet higher standards of impact resistance than regular eyeglasses–these standards apply to both the lenses and frames. Most ‘sports goggles’ can be fitted with a child’s prescription. For younger children who wear glasses and play less competitive sports, as long as the glasses have polycarbonate lenses (as most do), they are fine to wear while playing.
Those who have poor vision in one eye are especially vulnerable to injury and should wear glasses for protection at all time, and regulation sports safety goggles for physical education and sports. Adults can set a good example for their children by wearing eye protection when playing sports and by wearing sunglasses (which block both UVA and UVB rays) when outdoors.
For more information please see:
http://www.preventblindness.org/eye-health-safety
http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/living/sports.cfm
For more information on protective eyewear, please contact the Optical Department at any Katzen Eye Group location with any questions or to schedule an initial consultation.
