Any sport that involves bats, racquets, balls, or other flying projectiles (consider the badminton birdie) poses the potential for eye injury. Racquets themselves move at high speed in a confined space and may fly through the air if accidentally released. Wooden bats and other similar equipment have the potential to shatter or fall apart.
Appropriate Sports Eyewear
Sports vision protective wear comes in a wide variety of styles. The vision wear chosen should provide adequate protection from the particular hazards of the participant’s chosen sport. Sports goggles or eyewear should allow the use of a helmet when the sport calls for it. Vision wear designed for casual everyday use, even if it has polycarbonate lenses, will generally not provide adequate protection from injury during high impact and ball sports. The size, shape, and contour of the frame and anchoring straps of specially designed sports glasses or goggles are important safety adjuncts to the impact-resistant characteristics of the lenses.
In general, appropriate sports eyewear will have lenses made of polycarbonate or some other high-index, impact-resistant material. Polycarbonate is effective in protecting the eyes from fast-moving objects and other sources of impact and has the added benefits of inherent UVR protection and scratch-resistance.
For protective eyewear of all kinds, the frame plays almost as important a role as the lens. Almost all sport frames are available in both prescription and non-prescription forms. Frame materials must be sturdy, high-impact-resistant plastic or polycarbonate, and generally should have rubber and/or foam padding to cushion the frame where it comes in contact with the face or head. Styles that are contoured, wrapping slightly around the face, are generally more secure and provide less potential for displacement with impact or for slipping off the face in a strong gust of wind; these are useful features for contact sports and such activities as biking, hang-gliding, and sailing. An additional feature of the wraparound style is that wind and dust are kept out, a particular benefit for contact lens wearers and those with sensitive ocular surfaces.
Many independent associations, leagues, and government groups provide guidelines for vision wear appropriate to particular sports. In some cases a seal or logo on protective gear indicates that it has met approved standards for protection. Equipment appropriate for one sport or recreational pursuit, however, may not provide adequate protection for another.
Reference:
- Prevent Blindness America. Sports eye safety. Prevent Blindness America Web
site. Available at: http://www.preventblindness.org/safety/sportspage1.html.
Accessed July 20, 2008.