April is Sports Eye Safety Month, and while sports provide a fun, energetic way to stay fit, you need to ensure that you take the proper cautions to protecting yourself from injury. Many athletes have no problem putting on knee pads for soccer or a helmet for baseball, but are you taking the right measures to protect your eyes? Here are a few ways to protect your eyes while playing sports.
Wear Protective Eyewear
Our eyes are the second most complicated organs in our body (the brain being first). Each eye is made up of sensitive tissues and optic nerves as well as a lens, called the cornea. However, unlike other fragile organs, your eyes have no hard bones or skin to protect them from injury, which means they are more prone to injury. According to the National Eye Institute, “Eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children in the United States and most injuries occurring in school-aged children are sports-related.”
Additionally, different sports pose a higher risk of injury, including:
- Baseball/ Softball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Hockey
- Paintball
- Racquetball
If you play any of these sports, it’s vital that you wear the correct protective eyewear, and your glasses or sunglasses won’t do the trick either! Preventblindness.org recommends looking for eyewear that is labeled as ASTM F803. This means the eyewear has been tested and approved for high-quality protection.
In addition to the right protective eyewear, make sure you have helmets with polycarbonate face shields for sports like Hockey and Baseball.
Suffering From Sports Injury?
Our Community Health Center is also your eye health resource as well. Our ophthalmology health providers conduct routine eye exams and can help with minor eye abrasions and scratches. Schedule an appointment today!
