Why is protective eyewear important?

Whether you’re a collegiate baseball player, recreational tennis player or like to get outside with your friends for summer sports leagues, wearing the proper eye protection is always crucial. With more than 600,000 eye injuries relating to sports each year, it is important for all players, young and old, to protect their eyes and take the appropriate safety precautions before an accident occurs. All individuals who participate in sports should wear protective eyewear regardless of if they wear glasses or contacts or not.

Eye injuries

Eye injuries are the leading cause for blindness in children, yet many aren’t taking precautionary measures to divert this preventable injury. Amongst those eye injuries, the majority occur during sports. Sports including baseball, softball, basketball, hockey, tennis, soccer, football and many others all pose a risk of eye injury to players of all positions.

Of the estimated 1.6-2.4 million people who seek treatment for an eye injury each year, approximately 40,000 of those individuals will eventually become legally blind as a direct result of the previously sustained injury.

Prevention

The best way to protect you and your children from eye injuries relating to sports is by wearing sport specific protective eyewear that is properly fitted by an optician or other eye related professional. By wearing protective eyewear during sports, 90% of these sport related eye injuries can be avoided. Why wait until the injuries ensue? Choose safety first, and enable your children to participate in sports with a low risk of eye injuries.

More so than simply purchasing the protective eyewear, be sure to have a professional optician adjust the eyewear specifically for you or your child. Once you have the right eyewear and it is sized to fit the individual, making sure to always wear these during sports is the final step in preventing injuries. Only 15% of children reported always wearing eye protection when participating in sports, sport related hobbies and recreational activities. If the eyewear is not always worn, the injuries cannot always be prevented- but they should be.

Improving more than prevention

Studies have shown that players’ sight is not hindered with the use of protective eyewear. In many cases, these players performances actually improved when wearing protective eyewear, because they were less afraid of injuries and more committed to the game.

If you or your child is looking for protective eyewear for sports or other activities in the Central PA area, visit Hocke Optical today to learn more about our available products and professionally recommended options.