Spring is just around the corner, creating the perfect weather for getting engaged in a wide variety of sports activities. But some of these sports make you more vulnerable to eye injuries and even vision loss. It is important to understand eye safety and protect your eyes to maintain your sight.

Below, we explore some of the most important issues of sports eye safety and sports-related eye injuries.
 

Most Dangerous Sports for Eye Injuries

More than 40,000 Americans experience eye injuries each year on the sports field. About 90 percent of these incidents are preventable, according to the American Association of Family Physicians (AAFP). The top four causes of sports-related eye injuries include:

• Basketball

• Baseball

• Water sports

• Racquet sports
   

Categories of Risk for Sports-Related Eye Injuries

Eye doctors classify each type of sport as low-risk, high-risk, or very high-risk, in terms of potential for injuries. In each of these categories, it is critical that you follow guidelines for eye safety, such as by wearing eye protection.

Low-risk sports are those not involving body contact or use of dangerous implements, such as a ball, stick, bat, racquet or puck. These sports include swimming, track and field, cycling and gymnastics.

High-risk sports do involve use of dangerous implements like those listed above. Or, they involve body contact. This category includes basketball, baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, hockey, fencing and water polo, as examples.

Very high-risk sports include those that frequently lead to eye injuries, but as part of which people do not wear eye protection. These sports include wrestling, contact martial arts and boxing.
 

Common Types of Sports-Related Eye Injuries

The most common types of sports-related eye injuries include:

• Blunt trauma

• Penetrating eye injuries

• Sunlight radiation injuries

Blunt trauma takes place when something hits you directly in the eye. This is the most common type of eye injuries in sports. From blunt trauma you can break a bone under your eyeball as part of a blowout fracture. You can also rupture your eyeball as part of a ruptured globe. Your retina can also detach as part of permanent damage or you can suffer the temporary pain of a black eye.

When an object cuts into your eye you receive a penetrating injury. These types of eye injuries happen less frequently than blunt trauma. Examples include your glasses breaking into your eye or someone scratching your eye with their finger. You can experience minor eye injuries in these ways or very deep wounds, such as from a fishing hook.

Exposure to the UV rays of sunlight causes radiation injuries. The sports in which these injuries typically occur include water skiing and snow skiing. Winter sports cause this damage more frequently than summer sports.
 

Protecting Yourself from Sports Eye Injuries

It is important to visit your eye doctor before taking part in sports activities. They will provide a comprehensive eye exam and review your health history. If your family has a history of retinal problems, you should discuss that with your optometrist or ophthalmologist during this visit.

At your appointment, your eye doctor can discuss ways to protect your eyes from injuries while playing sports. For example, it is important to wear eye protection to keep your risk for injury at a minimum. Protective sports eyewear is made of clear or prescription impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses. Never substitute sunglasses for legitimate eye protection. You should also not expect a helmet or faceguard to protect your eyes like impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses.
 

Vulnerability of a One-Eyed Athlete

Although it sounds like a joke, the term “one-eyed athlete” is important to understand. This is an athlete with less than 20/40 vision in one of their eyes, despite wearing contact lenses or glasses. If you have 20/40 vision or worse in one of your eyes, you fall in this category.

Being a one-eyed athlete means you are at greater risk of becoming legally blind or losing all of your vision because of a sports injury to your “good eye.” It is important to understand your risk of permanent vision loss when playing sports. You should also wear protection and seek treatment for any injuries.

If you are a one-eyed athlete in sports involving face mask wear, you should still wear your eye protection beneath your face mask. This is the case for sports like hockey, lacrosse and football. As a one-eyed athlete, you should never take part in sports like wrestling, boxing, kickboxing or contact martial arts. The absence of eye protection in these sports leaves you at great risk for blindness.
 

Returning to Sports after Eye Injuries

You should always visit your optometrist or ophthalmologist when you suffer an eye injury during sports activity. It is also critical that you take your eye doctor’s advice and return to the playing field only when cleared to do so. This return should never take place until your eye feels comfortable and returns to sufficient vision. Of course, it is also important to wear eye protection after your injury.
 

Visit Your Eye Doctor at Clarity Vision Before Taking Part in Sports

Before hitting the field or court for your sports pursuits, it is very important that you visit your eye doctor at Clarity Vision. Clarity Vision has locations in North Carolina and southeastern Virginia for your convenience. These locations include:

• Smithfield, NC

• Clayton, NC

• Holly Springs, NC

• Williamston, NC

• Apex, NC

• Suffolk, VA

Preventing sports-related eye injuries is important to everyone at Clarity Vision. Find the location nearest you and schedule an appointment today.