“Ninety percent of all sports-related eye injuries can be prevented just by wearing proper eye protection,” says Daniel Garrett, senior vice president of Prevent Blindness America, a national organization dedicated to eliminating preventable blindness. “And there’s no evidence that wearing eye protection hampers athletic performance, so there’s absolutely no excuse for not wearing it.”
Approximately 1 in 50 Little League
baseball players will sustain an eye injury
that requires attention, according to the
Coalition to Prevent Sports Eye Injuries.
baseball players will sustain an eye injury
that requires attention, according to the
Coalition to Prevent Sports Eye Injuries.
And while eye injuries can occur at any age, young people are the most at risk. “Children make up 66 percent of all injuries,” notes Garrett. He offers the following advice for protecting children’s eyes:
• Insist that your child wear goggles or safety glasses for every sport in which she participates — and make sure they’re worn for each practice and game.
• Take a leadership role in promoting the use of safety eyewear for your child’s teammates. If everybody wears protection, children will be less resistant.
• Look for lenses that are made of polycarbonate and have an American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) label, indicating they meet the standards for the specific sport. For more information call 800-331-2020 or visit www. preventblindness.org.
Julie Vecchione DeSimone is a freelance writer from Centerport. She has two children who participate in sports.