Sport & recreational activities are becoming increasingly popular these days and are also a part of a healthy lifestyle. However, each sport also brings the possible risks of various injuries. We usually wear protective gear while playing sports in order to protect our body from injuries but at times, but we ignore one of the most sensitive parts – Our Eyes!
Sports eye injuries can get severe – from abrasion of the cornea, bruises in eyelids to internal eye injuries, like retinal detachments and internal bleeding. They can also lead to vision loss and permanent blindness.
Tips to Prevent Sports Eye Injuries
Hence, let’s not ignore the importance of sports eye safety and look at a few tips that can help you ensure eye protection in Sports.
1.Get a thorough eye examination
In sports, your vision can impact your performance, technique, natural ability and the amount of practice required! Before participating in any sports, make sure you go through a comprehensive eye examination, especially if you have a pre-existing eye condition or a family history of eye disease. This way, if you’ve got any condition that has to be addressed, it can be done on priority to avoid severe eye problems.
2.Go for polycarbonate plastic:
Regular glasses, contacts or eyewear aren’t enough to ensure sports eye safety. Glass can shatter in case of an accident and damage your eyes severely. Ensure that you wear protective eyewear made of shatterproof & ultrastrong plastic called Polycarbonate with UV rays protection.
These Polycarbonate lenses are thin, made of lightweight material, and impact-resistant, thereby offering the best eye protection. You should also make sure that your sports protection eyewear fits properly, so it doesn’t hamper your performance & is comfortable to wear.
3.Choose the right athletic eye safety gear:
Since all sports have various eye risks associated with them and are played in different conditions, one eyewear doesn’t work for all!
Buying the right protective eyewear based on the sports you play is very crucial.
For Example, you wear polycarbonate eyeglasses for cycling, eye goggles for swimming and ski glasses while skiing. So choose your eye safety gear accordingly!
4.Use prescription glasses if required:
While using glasses, make sure it has strong frames with a secure strap to adjust properly and in case of an accident the lenses should either stay in their place or pop outside, so your eyes stay safe.
Look for cushioning along the edge of your nose & eyebrows, so they don’t scratch your face, and in case of an emergency, keeping a backup pair will definitely help! At times, fogging of lenses can also be a problem, so get the ones with anti-fog coating or side vents for additional ventilation.
5.Take extra precautions in high-risk sports – use protective eye and face gears:
High-risk sports like hockey, paintball, basketball, soccer have a greater chance of causing injury. The speed of the ball is usually very fast, and the players are in close proximity. These types of sports require different protective gears for eyes & face but always make sure they fit you properly.
You can use a wire or polycarbonate mask or sports eye guards for hockey, eye guards for basketball & soccer, polycarbonate shield attached to face guard or sports eye guard in football and polycarbonate face guard in baseball. Some sports like boxing & martial arts don’t have eye protection options; however, thumbless gloves can reduce eye injuries.
Even after taking the precautions mentioned above, eye injuries can happen while playing sports. In such cases, make sure you see an ophthalmologist immediately to determine the severity of the injury and identify the best possible treatment.
How Centre for Sight can help?
With a team of highly skilled and experienced doctors who are well-equipped with the latest surgical and diagnostic technology, Centre for Sight offers the best eye care to all. We can guide you on how to ensure sports eye safety. We believe in personalized care to all by performing a thorough examination and suggesting the best possible solution or treatment.
Article: 5 Sports Eye Safety Tips
Author: CFS Editorial Team | Jan 4 2021 | UPDATED 01:00 IST
*The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of Centre for Sight.
