Sports Eye Protection

Sports Eye Protection – Eye Injuries don’t have to be part of the game. Sports Eye protection can significantly reduce the risk of sport-related eye injury.

Sports Eye Protection

Sports Eye Protection

Sports Eye Injuries – The facts are…

  • More than 600 000 eye injuries related to sports and recreation occur each year.
  • Over 85% of people do not utilize protective eyewear in situations that represent a risk of eye injury.
  • Every 13 minutes a person with a sports related eye injury visits an emergency room.
  • More than 90% of all eye injuries can be prevented with the use of appropriate protective eyewear.

Many organisations, researchers, and individuals strongly advise the use of Protective Eyewear:

  • The American Academy of Pediatrics
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology
  • American Optometric Association
  • American Public Health Association
  • The Coalition to Prevent Sports Eye Injuries
  • National Eye Institute
  • Prevent Blindness

Sports Eye Protection Buying Tips

  • Use the recommended eye protection table to find the eye protection safety standard for your sport. Ensure that the protector you purchase meets or exceeds that recommended standard.
  • For outdoor sports, insist on 100% UVA & UVB protection. Additionally, photochromic (lenses that change color) or tinted lenses are excellent for sports various light situations.
  • For both indoor and outdoor sports, anti-reflective coatings add comfort by reducing glare.
  • Frames must be used with a sports band or retention strap to ensure the frames stays in place.

Recommended Eye Protection

Baseball: ASTM Standard F910 (Face Guard attached to the helmet) (Batting/Base Running), ASTM Standard F803 for Baseball (ASTM Specifies Age Ranges) (Fielding)

Basketball: ASTM Standard F803 for Basketball (ASTM Specifies Age Ranges)

Racquetball: ASTM Standard F803 for Racquetball

Soccer / Squash: ASTM Standard F803 for Soccer and Squash

Football: Polycarbonate Eye Shield Attached to Helmet. Mounted Wire Face Mask

Volleyball: ASTM Standard F803 for Basketball

Lacrosse: ASTM Standard F803 for Lacrosse

Prevent Eye Injury

Help prevent from becoming an eye injury statistic. If you are a parent, guardian, coach or sports program director of young athletes you are responsible for the safety of their eyes while participating in sports with known eye injury risks.

For those who need corrective prescription lenses, it is important to know that regular eyeglasses and contact lenses provide little or no protection. In fact, regular eyewear may even cause a more severe eye injury. Talk to your eyecare professional about protective sports eyewear with your prescription.

While no single device can prevent all injuries, sport eye protection that meets stringent ASTM Standards for the sports being played can significantly reduce the risk of sport-related eye injury.

Prevent Blindness estimates that over 90% of all sports related eye injuries are avoidable.