Sports Eye Safety

Each year there are more than 100,000 visits to physicians and ERs due to sports related eye injuries. Of those injuries, more than 90 percent of them are preventable with the use of protective eyewear. Swimming and playing in pools, lakes and oceans account for the most eye injuries. Baseball, basketball and software also cause a significant number of eye injuries each year.

Importance of Wearing Proper Sports Eyewear

Children and adults should wear protective sports eyewear anytime they are participating in sports, including swimming or water sports, basketball, baseball, softball, football, bicycling and any racquet sport. Even fisherman, boxers and weight lifters should wear protective eyewear.

Wearing the proper eyewear for your sport can prevent severe eye injuries and blindness. The most common types of sports injuries involve getting hit in the eye by a ball, stick, puck, hand or arm. During these injuries, the bones around the eye can get broken. The eyeball itself can be broken, and the eye can be hit so hard that it causes the retina to detach.

Protective Eyewear with our Optometrist in Maple Ridge

Regular glasses and sunglasses do not provide enough protection when playing sports. In fact, wearing regular street glasses can be more dangerous than wearing nothing at all. Glasses and sunglasses can shatter if they are hit hard enough and pieces of the glasses can impact the eye, causing significant injury and even blindness. Our optometrist in Maple Ridge recommends wearing the proper protective eyewear for your sport.

Protective eyewear includes safety glasses and goggles. Safety glasses and goggles are made out of an ultra-strong polycarbonate that does not shatter when impacted by objects or body parts. For individuals that wear prescription glasses, goggles can be purchased that both fit over your glasses and fit your face. Our eye doctor can also write a prescription for safety glasses or goggles so that you do not have to wear your prescription glasses while you play sports.

Have you scheduled your appointment with our eye doctor for prescription sports eyewear?