What You Need to Know
A sprained ankle cannot change a child's life, but an eye injury can. As sports participation statistics continue to climb, the number of athletes who fall victim to eye injuries has the potential to grow at alarming rates.The impact of a ball or other equipment as well as an opponent's hands and elbows pose a threat to an athlete's visual safety. Regardless of an individual's age or skill level, every athlete's eyes are targets for injury.
Belill Eye Care is a certified Sports Injury Prevention Center. It is our duty to inform and educate the public about this important issue. Despite the consensus support from the medical community and United States government for the use of protective sports eyewear, the majority of athletic programs, coaches, schools, parents and athletes remain unaware that a problem even exists. And every thirteen minutes an emergency room treats another preventable sports eye injury.
It is a virtual certainty that the use of proper protective eyewear for risk-prone sports will eventually be legally mandated. However, the legislation is a long process. Consider that it took DECADES for mandated use of seat belts, car seats and bicycle helmets. Even though most youth sport leagues currently do not require the use of eye protection, parents and coaches must insist that ALL children who play sports use proper protective eyewear, not just those who normally wear ordinary glasses or contact lenses. It is especially important for student athletes who have normal vision in only one eye.
Whether you are a parent, coach, or athletic director, you can encourage schools to adopt a policy on protective eyewear and be a good role model by wearing it yourself. By providing your children with proper protective sports eyewear, you can help prevent them from becoming another statistic.
FREQUENT
- Every 13 minutes in the United States, an E.R. treats a sports-related eye injury.
- More than 600,000 injuries related to sports and recreation occur each year.
- 27% of all eye injuries of
sports-related (40% for kids between ages of 11-14).
- Over 50% of children play
organized sports.
- School-aged competitors are particularly prone to eye injuries since their athletic skills (hand-eye coordination, balance, reaction time and speed) are still developing. Consider that 66% of all sports eye injuries occur in participants between ages of 5-24).
- Baseball is the leading cause of eye injuries in children 14 and under.
- Basketball is the leading
cause of eye injuries among 15 to 24 year olds.
- One-in-eighteen college
athletes sustain an eye injury each season. The odds increase to
one-in-ten for basketball players.
- Sports with highest rates of
eye injuries include -
basketball, water sports, baseball/softball, Guns (air, BB), football, bicycling, racquet sports, golf, exercising/weightlifting, winter sports, and soccer.
SEVERE
- Eye Injuries are the leading cause of BLINDNESS in children and most injuries occuring in school-aged children are sports-related.
- Approximately 13,500 legally
blinding sports eye injuries occur each year.
- Categories of Eye Injuries : blunt trauma, penetrating, radiation
- The one-eyed athlete is 150 times more likely to go completely blind than an athlete with two fully functioning eyes.
- Eye injury is the leading
cause of visual impairment in one eye.
- Playing high risk sports
without certified protective eyewear is one of the greatest dangers
to a child's vision.
- Types of eye injuries: Corneal abrasion, fractured orbital bone, eyelid laceration, ruptured eyeball, blood seepage into eyeball, iris tear, retinal detachment, optic nerve tear
PREVENTABLE
- An estimated 85% of children do NOT utilize protective sports eyewear in situations that present a risk of eye injury. (Contact lenses, ordinary glasses, or sunglasses do NOT protect against eye injuries).
- Protective sports eyewear may
prevent up to 90% of sports-related eye injuries.
- Protective sports eyewear are
eyeglass frames or goggles specifically designed to meet or exceed
the appropriate ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)
certified impact protective standards. Lenses in protective
sports eyewear must be made of polycarbonate or Phoenix plastic
material. These are impact resistant and shield eyes from harmful
UV radiation.
- Protective sports eyewear
should be fitted by an eyecare professional to be sport-specific
and comfortable on the face. With many new styles and colors
available, protective sports eyewear is no longer geeky. It is
effective AND stylish.
- BEWARE: Studies show that children participating in sports wearing ordinary glasses or sunglasses (those that do not meet ASTM certified protective standards) are at a far more severe risk of serious eye injury that participants using no eye protection at all.
- Increasing the use of
protective eyewear in sports is an objective of the National Health
Institute's "Healthy People 2020" initiative. This document states
the health goals of our country.
- The use of protective eyewear for all participants during sports in which there is a risk of eye injury is strongly recommended by the following groups: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Optometric Association, National Eye Institute, Prevent Blindness America, International Federation of Sports Medicine.
- Despite the fact that the
medical community and the federal government have made their
positions clear, the majority of athletic programs, schools,
coaches, parents and players aren't even aware that sports eye
injuries are a problem.
- A recent market sampling in
Michigan showed that 97% of high schools do not have a Sports
Vision Program
- We all know how seriously a coach, athletic director and school system view their responsibility to protect their athletes. Kids wouldn't be allowed to play their sport without the proper protective equipment (elbow pads, shin guards, face masks, mouth guards). Yet there is no policy to protect eyes. We protect our children against broken bones and bruises - why not protect them from blindness too?
- Currently, most youth leagues
do not require the use of protective sports eyewear. Parents and
coaches must insist that all children who play should
use protective sports eyewear - not just those who wear ordinary
glasses or contact lenses. For those children that need ordinary
glasses, protective sports eyewear can be made to match their
prescription.
- Now that
you are educated - take action to help prevent a child from
becoming a statistic. Whether you are a parent, coach, or teacher -
you can encourage schools to adopt a mandatory policy on protective
sports eyewear. Meanwhile, besides ensuring that all children who
play protect their eyes - also be a good role model by wearing it
yourself.
- Protective sports eyewear is
similar to seat belts, car seats, and bicycle helmets. Even though
in some cases not very popular, they are vital pieces of equipment
that protect children from serious injury.
- Make it
clear to school-aged athletes: if they do not wear proper
protective sports eyewear, then they DO NOT PLAY.
LINKS
http://www.sportseyeinjuries.com/
http://www.nei.nih.gov/sports/
http://www.nei.nih.gov/sports/pdf/SportsRelatedEyeInjuries.pdf
http://www.libertysport.com/news.asp
