Keep and eye out Sports-related eye injuries are common but preventable.

Keep and eye out

Sports-related eye injuries are common but preventable.

We help them put on their shin guards and elbow pads. We make sure they have a helmet that fits properly. As parents of our child athletes, we do whatever we can to ensure that our kids have all of the best state-of-the-art equipment for their sports participation.

But what about protecting their eyes?

According to Prevent Blindness America, more than 42,000 sports-related eye injuries occur each year, and up to 90 percent of them can be avoided. "The greatest risk to a child's vision is eye injury, which in most cases is sports-related," says Dr. Paul Berman, an optometrist with VSP, a national network of vision care providers. "Every 13 minutes, a child goes to the emergency room due to a sports-related eye injury."

These injuries can range from minor abrasions to irreversible damage or blindness involving parts of the eye, such as the cornea, retina, iris or eye socket. Blunt trauma and penetrating injuries are often the most debilitating.

Sports that use equipment such as bats and/or balls are where the majority of these eye-related injuries are found, and they present a higher risk for eye damage. This would include year-round favorites in Orange County, sports that typically do not include protective eyewear as a part of the standard equipment: basketball, baseball, tennis and soccer.

According to Berman, the sports that pose the greatest risk for eye injury are basketball (for children over age 14) and baseball (for children under age 14). In baseball, two-thirds of eye-related injuries occur on the field, not at bat.

"A line drive or a bad hop off the infield grass can lead to a baseball-related eye injury," says Berman. "But those types of injuries are easily preventable."

So what steps can parents take to help protect their young athletes' eyes out on the court or the field? The key, Dr. Berman says, is incorporating the use of proper equipment and annual eye exams.

Comprehensive annual eye exams for your child will not only ensure that any vision issues are promptly dealt with, they'll allow both parents and kids to receive information regarding available protective eyewear products.

These products, as recommended by Prevent Blindness America, include safety goggles (with lensed polycarbonate protectors) for racquet sports or basketball, along with batting helmets with polycarbonate face shields for youth baseball. Berman cautions against young athletes wearing regular glasses or sunglasses while participating in their chosen sport, as those products are not shatterproof and could cause serious damage if broken while in use.

"The protective eyewear needs to provide UV protection and be sports- certified, made to withstand impact," says Berman.

And for those kids who require vision correction, parents have a few options. Sports-certified protective eyewear is available with prescription lenses, or children can be fitted with contacts to be worn in conjunction with protective sports goggles.

Since sports are such an integral part of so many Orange County families, the use of eye protection will allow kids to safely enjoy the sports they love. So when reviewing all the pieces of equipment needed for that upcoming baseball or soccer season, don't forget to consider eye protection.

"Protecting your kid's eyes now with the proper equipment, and annual eye exams, will help them stay on top of their game, both on the field and off," says Berman. 

By Jenelyn Russo

vsp.com

preventblindness.org

sportseyeinjuries.com