Even though it’s summer, student athletes of all ages are often still involved in athletic activities from baseball, football, tennis...you name it, they are involved.
And not just youths, but people of all ages.
Athletes are always preparing themselves with a variety of protective gear, ranging from hip pads to wrist bands for certain parts of their body, but what is often neglected are the eyes.
That often sets the stage for injuries that result in trips to the emergency room.
“Most eye injuries can be caused by moving balls such as a racquetball, baseball, just about anything that can hit the eye,” said Dr. John Barringer, woptometrist at Vision Source here in Ardmore. “And it can cause detachment and/or general eye irritation. It can put your eye out, so you need some kind of safety protective lenses that are not breakable.”
Then there are other factors that cause irritation or inflammation, like sweat, dirt, dust, chalk, even a set of fingers from another player –– all things that get into someone’s eyes.
But according to a news release from the Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians, about 90 percent of eye injuries can be avoided with protective eye wear.
Statistics indicate only 15 percent of student athletes wear protective eyewear when playing sports, and 97 percent of schools in the United States do not have a policy regarding protective eyewear in sports.
The makes it imperative for coaches and other school staff members to educate parents about the importance, and then the parents take action to implement the use of eyewear to prevent eye injuries.
“Before participating in any sport, athletes should visit an optometrist for a comprehensive eye exam to address any vision problems and then to assess what protective eyewear is most appropriate for the type of sports in which the athlete is involved,” Barringer said.
Protective eye wear is necessary because conventional eyeglass frames and lenses often do not meet the minimum requirements for impact resistance in most sports, which can turn a small collision or irritation into a sight-threatening injury.
Barringer said he has a good number of student-athletes, as well as adult athletes, come in to his office for examinations in reference to the matter.
“We check their visual agility to make sure they have 20/20 vision, and if they don’t, it’s important to correct it with glasses or contacts,” Barringer said. “We also check their ocular and eye muscle balance just to make sure their eyes coordinate together, and that they have binocular vision where they can see things in depth and they have no muscle problems with their eyes, and that they have good peripheral vision for most sports.”\
Sports eyewear can be tested to meet strict standards that offer increased protection to the eye through the use of high grade materials. They are also made to accommodate specific sports based on the risk factors of that particular sport.
Since all sports have different visual demands, an optometrist can assess the needs of the individual athlete and recommend the proper glasses or contact lenses, or set up a vision-therapy program to increase his or her visual skills for that sport, and fit them with the protective eyewear that we be most beneficial.
“Most all our patients get a poly-carbonate lens that’s not unbreakable, but won’t shatter like glass. It’s a safety plastic that is less likely to break,” Barringer said. “And there has been a safety plastic that are worn in all safety glasses that are industrial strength that don’t break at all.”
For outdoor sports, Barringer recommends some kind of sun protect-ant that has a UV blocker.
“Your family optometric physician can help to determine what eyewear is going to be most beneficial to the athletes in your family with the goal of maximizing performance while protecting the eyes,” Barringer said. “Armed with the right information and invaluable eye safety equipment, kids can focus on their sport and parents, educators and coaches can rest easy knowing they have protected student athletes.”
Mike Moguin, 221-6522
mike.moguin@ardmoreite.com
