Sports Eye Safety

Eye Health
Important Facts About Sports Eye Safety
American Academy of Ophthalmology
P.O. Box 7424, San Francisco, CA 94120

Incidence and Epidemiology

About 90% of sports-related injuries are preventable. Prevention is the most effective treatment.
In 1990, sports were the major cause of eye injuries in school-age children.
An estimated 40,000 sports-related eye injuries occur each year in the U.S.
Over one third of the victims are children.
Most common injuries associated with sports: abrasions and contusions, detached retinas, corneal lacerations, cataracts, hemorrhages, loss of an eye.
High risk sports: basketball, baseball, hockey, football, lacrosse, racquetball and soccer.

Sport-Specific Risk

Sports with High Risk of Eye Injury-Special Eye Protection Recommended: basketball, football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, fencing, hockey (all types), softball, paint ball, water polo, racquet sports and downhill skiing.
Sports with Moderate to High Risk of Eye Injury-Special Eye Protection Recommended: horse racing, polo, wrestling, slalom skiing and handball.
Sports with Relatively Low Risk of Eye Injury-Glasses/Sunglasses with Polycarbonate Lenses Adequate: track and field, fishing, golf and cycling.
Sports with High Risk of Eye Injury-No Adequate Eye Protection Exists/is Allowed: boxing and full-contact martial arts (not allowed).

Sport Specific Data

In baseball, most eye injuries are due to ocular contact with the ball. Batters are the most common victims, however, pitchers and fielders can also be injured.
In basketball, most eye injuries are due to eyes being poked by fingers and elbows.
In 1980, baseball introduced the helmet as protection for batters. Since 1990, Little League recommends, but does not mandate, the use of facemasks. In 1994, Dixie baseball mandated the use of face shields for batters.
In Canada, ocular trauma decreased by 90% after certified full-face protectors attached to the headgear were made mandatory in organized amateur hockey.
In the NFL, facemasks, fitted with shields that are specially contoured according to position, prevent most eye injuries.

Prevention and Recommendations

Athletes participating in high-risk sports should wear appropriate sport-specific protective eyewear as recommended and properly fitted by an eye care professional.
Protective eyewear lenses should be made of polycarbonate. Polycarbonate lenses are 20 times stronger than typical eyewear, able to withstand a ball, or other projectile, traveling 90 mph.
Contact lenses offer no protection.
Streetwear glasses are inadequate to protect against any type of eye injury.
Parents must insist that children wear the appropriate eye protection during sports activities.

Special Considerations for Athletes with Good Vision in Only One Eye or History of Eye Injury

Functionally one-eyed athletes (those whose best-corrected visual acuity is worse than 20/40 in the poorer-seeing eye), or those who have had previous eye injury or surgery, should never participate in boxing or full-contact martial arts.
For sports in which a facemask or helmet with eye protector is required, functionally one-eyed athletes should also wear sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses to ensure adequate protection. The helmet must fit properly and have a chinstrap.