Sports Eye Safety From Lock Family Eye Care

From skateboarding to skiing, to swimming and baseball, it is important that no matter what sport you or your child plays, that protecting your eyes is a top priority. More than 25,000 Americans visit optometry offices every year for sports-related eye care every year, and 40,000 visit the emergency room, says Prevent Blindness and Friends for Sight websites. Some injuries are as obvious as trauma to the eye, like getting hit in the eye with a ball or object; others are less obvious but just as serious as chemical burns; getting specks of dust, sand or dirt in their eyes; or cutting or puncturing your eye or eyelid. Nearly 14,000 sports-related eye injuries have even led to blindness, Friends for Sight says. Almost 45 percent of sports vision issues happen in children under 15 and 72 percent happen to people under 25 years old, Friends for Sight said. Sports vision injuries is “the leading cause of blindness in children,” according to Friends for Sight.

Most Dangerous Sports Vision Sports

According to statistics from Prevent Blindness in 2017, water and pool activities are the leading causes of eye injuries for children of all ages with nearly 7,000 injuries. Rounding out the remaining top five most dangerous sports for children’s eyes are basketball; gun, darts, arrows and slingshots; baseball or softball; exercising and weight-lifting; and bicycling, all totaling 21,000 injuries. Of the 22 different types of sports listed, 33,000 eye injuries were reported in 2017 alone.

Preventing Sports Vision Injuries

For contact sports like basketball or racquet sports like tennis, baseball or hockey, it is essential to wear goggles. If you wear a helmet, either make sure to wear goggles under the helmet or make sure the helmet comes with a face shield. Sunglasses or regular glasses are not proper protection and can actually make eye injuries worse, Prevent Blindness said.

Visiting Lock Family Eye Care

Lock Family Eye Care, serving the West Des Moines area, offer sports vision eye care testing and therapy for athletes. Our optometry office tests athletes for contrast sensitivity, color perception, being able to see how far away objects are, visual processing and eye tracking. With optometry care and safety goggles, you can prevent eye injuries. For sports vision testing, make an appointment with us by calling (515) 267-1312 or visiting our website.