Each September, we partner with Prevent Blindness to promote sports eye safety awareness. As kids and young adults are returning to school and college this time of year, they are also heading back to their favorite sports – meaning an increased risk of different kinds of sports eye injuries. This Sports Eye Safety awareness month serves as a great reminder for us to take care of our vision by using the right protective eyewear for your sport or activity.  

What are the stats on Sports-Related Eye Injuries

Prevent Blindness recently released their annual statistics on sports eye injuries for 2020.. Although the data was impacted by the decline in sports participation from COVID-19, there were still 19,354 sports related eye injuries. Pool & Water Sports had the highest numbers of eye injuries followed by Non-Powder Guns, Darts, Arrows, and Slingshots activities. Ball games such as Basketball, Baseball/ Softball, and Soccer are also among the top sports for eye injuries plus Exercising, Weightlifting, and Biking. 90% of the total numbers are young kids and young adults (ages from 0-22). These numbers demonstrate the importance of wearing the right type of sport protective eyewear for your sport such as Rec Specs.   

Why is Wearing the Right Sports Eyegear Essential?

It is strongly recommended for athletes to wear specific sports eyegear when participating in sports. Prescription glasses, sunglasses and even occupational safety glasses do not provide adequate protection. Prescription glasses should never be worn as protective eyewear or underneath goggle type protective eyewear.

There are many types of sports-related eye injuries of varying severity according to Prevent Blindness America. Most of these injuries are lacerations or scratches on the cornea, the clear front part of the eye (corneal injuries), and fracture of the eye socket which is the broken bone that surrounds the eye that can occur when debris or particles fly into your  eyes. Others can be more severe ranging from bruising and swelling around the eye to orbital fractures from impact. Certain jarring motions can lead to a torn or detached retina. And the worst part is that some injuries can lead to life long-term damage, such as retinal detachments. This is why wearing the right type of sports glasses like Rec Specs is so important. Rec Specs can help prevent 90% of sports related eye injuries.

How can we Prevent Eye Injuries from Sports & Activities?

This Sports Eye Safety Month, Prevent Blindness shares a few suggestions for protective eyewear. Having the right sports eyewear can help lessen and prevent these avoidable eye injuries.

• Wear proper safety goggles (lensed polycarbonate protectors) just like Rec Specs Sports Eyewear. Sport protective eyewear should be labeled as ASTM F803 approved. This eyewear is performance tested to give you the highest levels of protection.
• Use batting helmets with polycarbonate face shields.
• Use helmets and face shields approved by the U.S. Amateur Hockey Association when playing hockey.
• Know that regular glasses don’t provide enough protection

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