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Accidents resulting in
eye injuries can happen to anyone. More than half of all eye injuries
occur in people under the age of 25. Of the 100,000 eye injuries that
occur annually, 40 percent occur during sports or recreational
activities. In the 5- to 14-year-old age group, baseball is the number
one cause of sports-related injuries. In the 15- to 24-year-old age
group, basketball is the most common cause of eye injuries, with
injuries caused by contact with fingers and elbows. Perhaps the most
startling statistic is that 90 percent of all eye injuries could be
prevented. It is important for parents to familiarize themselves with
potentially dangerous situations at home and in school and to insist
that their children use protective eyewear when participating in
sports or other hazardous activities.
Children and Sports
Increasing numbers of children are participating in sports at an early
age. Many sports have official standards for safety equipment. Some
activities in which children should use protective eyewear are:
á Baseball
á
Basketball
á Football
á Racquet sports
á Soccer
á
Wrestling
á
All forms of hockey (ice, roller, street, and field)
á Lacrosse
á Paintball In baseball, ice
hockey, and boys' lacrosse, a helmet with a polycarbonate (an
especially strong, shatterproof, lightweight plastic) face mask or
wire shield should be worn at all times. It is important that hockey
face masks be approved by the Hockey Equipment Certification Council (HECC)
or the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). Sports eye protectors
with polycarbonate lenses should be worn for sports such as
basketball, racquet sports, soccer, baseball fielders, girl's
lacrosse, and field hockey. Choose eye protectors that have been
tested to meet the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)
standards or that pass the CSA racquet sports standard. Protective
glasses or goggles with UV protection should be worn when snow or
water skiing. They will help shield the eyes from sunburn and glare.
Boxing and full-contact martial arts pose an extremely high risk of
serious and even blinding eye injuries. There is no satisfactory eye
protection for boxing, although thumbless gloves may reduce the number
of boxing eye injuries. Parents of a child with permanently reduced
vision in one eye should consider the risks of injury to the good eye
before allowing their child to participate in contact or racquet
sports. Appropriate eye protectors may allow for participation. Check
with your ophthalmologist (Eye M.D.). Contact lenses offer NO
PROTECTION, and contact lens wearers require additional protection
when participating in sports.
Eye Safety at Home and in the Yard
To provide the safest environment for your children, select games and
toys that are appropriate for their age and responsibility level.
Provide adequate supervision and instruction when your children handle
potentially dangerous items, such as pencils, scissors, forks and
penknives. Be aware that even common household items such as paper
clips, bungee cords, wire coat hangers, rubber bands and fishhooks can
cause serious eye injury. Avoid projectile toys such as darts, bows
and arrows, and missile-firing toys. Do not allow your children to
play with non-powder rifles, pellet guns or BB guns. They are
extremely dangerous and have been reclassified as firearms and removed
from toy departments. Keep all chemicals and sprays, such as sink
cleaners or oven cleaners, out of reach of small children. Do not
allow children to ignite fireworks or stand near others who are doing
so. All fireworks are potentially dangerous for children of all ages.
Do not allow children in the yard while a lawnmower is in use. Stones
and debris thrown from moving blades can cause severe eye injuries.
Demonstrate the use of appropriate protective eyewear to children by
always wearing protective eyewear yourself while using power tools,
rotary mowers, line lawn trimmers, or while hammering. Children will
learn by your example.
Eye Safety in School
When participating in shop or some chemistry science labs, students
should wear protective goggles and/or shields that meet the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z87.1 safety standard.
General Eye Safety for Children Ophthalmologists strongly
recommend that children with good vision in only one eye wear
protective glasses at all times to protect the good eye - even if they
do not need glasses otherwise. The lenses should be made of
polycarbonate and have a center thickness of 2mm for daily wear and
3mm for sports. Choosing a sturdy frame will reduce the risk of injury
from the frames themselves. Frames that meet the ANSI industrial
standards offer the best available protection for general spectacle
wear. Prescription lenses can be fitted into some types of sports eye
protectors, but at present frames without lenses do not provide
adequate protection.
When an Injury Does Occur
When an eye injury does occur, it is always best to have an
ophthalmologist or other medical doctor examine the eye as soon as
possible. The seriousness of an eye injury may not be immediately
obvious.
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