Tips for Protecting Your Eyes during Sports Activities
Do you enjoy time on the field or court, playing your favorite sports games? Whether you are a professional athlete, on a community team, or you enjoy getting together with friends for a game, it is important that you are proactive to protect your eyes.
Frequencies of Eye Injuries
It is estimated that over 100,000 people in the United States are treated annually for eye injuries that occur during sports activities. The National Eye Institute has said that about 13,500 of these injuries result in permanent vision loss.
If your eye is accidentally damaged during a sporting event, then it is essential that you contact an experienced eye doctor in Chicago right away for an examination. Once the damage has been done, it is not possible to reverse the vision loss. But, there are a few treatments that might be used to reduce the swelling and prevent additional damage after the injury has occurred.
Preventable Sports Injuries
Most eye injuries that happen during sporting activities are considered to be preventable injuries. In fact, it is estimated that 90% of these injuries could have been avoided if the right preventive steps were taken. The best thing that you can do to protect your eyes is to be sure that you will be wearing eye guards when you are on the field.
These eye guards are available from your optometrist, and you can find the right protective lenses that will cover your eyes to prevent injury. If you wear prescription glasses or contacts, you might even choose to buy eye guards that are built with your prescription so that you don’t have to wear other lenses at the same time. Another option is to wear contact lenses with non-prescription eye guards over your eyes. Typically, it isn’t safe or comfortable to wear glasses and eye guards at the same time.
Preventing Eye Injury
It is important to understand the risk of any sport that you enjoy. Not all sports will require protective lenses, so you can consider the activity to determine the type of protective lenses that you need. For example, if you are running a marathon, then sunglasses will be necessary to protect your eyes from the UV rays. But, you don’t need to wear eye guards since you won’t be coming in contact with other people or a ball.
On the other hand, physical sports such as football, basketball, baseball, etc., will put you in a situation where your eyes could potentially be damaged. If you could come in contact with any object or person, then you need to keep your eyes protected to avoid injury.
Stop By to See the Protective Lenses that are Available
At Village Eyecare, we specialize in all types of glasses and protective lenses for your eyes. You can come to our office to see the options that are available, including eye guards, safety shields, safety glasses and goggles. We invite you to contact us right away for more information about how you can keep your eyes protected!
