Each year, 42,000 sports-related eye injuries in the United States require a trip to the emergency room – that’s one serious eye injury every 13 minutes!
A survey by The Vision Council revealed that nearly nine in 10 people believe children should regularly wear protective eyewear when playing sports, yet the National Eye Institute reports that less than 15 percent of children wear protection during “hazardous” sports activities. Of course, nothing can prevent all sports-related eye injuries. But simply making sports protective eyewear a part of athletic uniforms can significantly reduce the likelihood of potentially sight damaging injuries.
Anyone participating in the following sports and activities should wear protective eyewear:
- baseball or softball
- racquetball
- tennis
- badminton
- soccer
- football
- ice hockey or street hockey
- lacrosse
- archery
- fencing
- boxing
- basketball
- karate
- any other activity that uses a ball or racket, involves rough contact with other players, or requires travel at high speed
Source: The Vision Council