Our Warm Spring Optometric Group on Understanding Eye Protection For Sports
There are approximately 40,000 eye injuries related to sports each year. Approximately 90 percent of them could have been avoided. Here at Warm Spring Optometric Group in Fremont, CA, we stress the importance of wearing protective eyewear to protect your when you are participating in sports-related activities. In terms of how sports are viewed by optometry professionals, sports fall into four categories, safe sports, low-risk sports, moderate risk sports, and high-risk sports. No matter the sport, it is important to note that there is always the possibility of an eye injury occurring, this is why learning about the type of protective eye gear you need is so important.
Depending on your sport of choice, you may not need protective eyewear if you don’t wear contacts or glasses. If you wear prescription eyewear, you can purchase low-level protective frames, and have your prescriptions placed in them. These types of protective lenses are best suited for safe sports and low-risk sports. Purchasing a pair of inexpensive frames to use while engaging in sports-related activities will keep you from placing you everyday eyewear at risk. Sports that are considered safe include gymnastics, and track and field activities. Any sports activity that does not involve aggressive play, swinging bats and clubs or high-speed balls is considered low risk.
Most people would never consider their participation in sports like tennis, soccer or golf to pose any risk to their eyes, however, these sports in addition to badminton and bicycling are considered moderate level sports. Whether you are a daily wearer of glasses or contacts, you should purchase a pair of sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses to help protect your eyes from injury. Moderate level sports still have a certain number of risks, as there are objects that could fly into your eyes. Here in our office, we offer a wide variety of these types of goggles to choose from.
When it comes to high-risk sports like racquetball, paintball, and basketball, there are numerous variables at play and any number of ways to cause injuries to your eyes. If you are playing basketball, there is always going to be the possibility, of getting hit in the eye by someone’s hand, arm or elbow, as it is an aggressive sport and contact with another individual is unavoidable. If paintball is your sport of choice, you have to be concerned about your eyes being exposed to chemicals and at high speed.
Here at Fremont Eye Health, we can’t empathize the importance of wearing Sports Vision eye protection. There are certain sports, that are high risk, but no eye protection is allowed, leaving people to make a choice about their personal eye care. Call us to schedule an appointment to select the right protective eyewear for your sport at (510) 490-0287.