Sports Eye Injury Prevention Tips

It’s Sports Eye Safety Awareness Month. This is one topic we are happy to bring into focus. According to some estimates, as many as 90 percent of the 40,000 sports-related injuries that are reported each year are preventable. Even worse: about 35 percent of those injuries, or 14,000, result in permanent vision damage. Read on for some tips on preventing injuries from a Los Angeles, CA eye doctor.

Wear Eye Protection

First and foremost, be sure to wear proper protection. The kind you need will depend on what sport you (or your child) are doing. A goalie may need a full face shield, while a long-distance runner may be fine with sunglasses. We recommend wearing a full, shatterproof face mask and shield for contact sports such as football, baseball, and hockey. Field hockey, racquetball, and tennis players may be fine with goggles.

Don’t Skip Vision Protection

If you wear glasses, don’t assume that it’s okay to just swap them out for protective eye wear. You still need to see what’s going on around you! Consider wearing contacts. They offer better peripheral vision than glasses, and you can wear goggles or shields over them.

Take All Injuries Seriously

With some rougher sports, such as football, the occasional black eye isn’t exactly uncommon. However, don’t assume that a shiner—or any other eye injury—isn’t serious. Have any issue or injury checked out immediately, even if you don’t think it’s anything to worry about. This is one area where it’s better to be safe, rather than sorry!

Get Eye Exams

Regular eye exams are important for everyone, but they’re especially crucial for athletes. This doesn’t only apply to injuries to the eye. A skier, gymnast, or diver whose vision is off could end up seriously hurt after a minor visual miscalculation. Have your eyes checked regularly.

Keep A Safety Kit Handy

If you play with an organized sports league, or in some sort of arena, there are likely first aid kits on site. However, it’s a good idea to keep one handy, just in case. Be sure to include eye wash and shields. However, any first aid concerning an eye injury should be done by–or at least under the direction of–an eye doctor or first responder. Different types of injuries require different treatments, and doing the wrong thing could make matters worse.

Do you have questions about caring for your eyes? Contact us, your Los Angeles, CA vision center, today!