6.
What is the value of protective eyewear?
Sports Eye Injury Prevention
Ninety percent of all eye injuries from sports are preventable.
Eye safety goggles specially designed for individual sports
should be worn when participating in all sports activities.
Contact lenses will not protect the eye from injuries in sport:
in fact, they may even contribute to an injury caused by impact.
Almost all prescription eyewear is available in polycarbonate,
a material used in the canopies for jet aircraft. When fitted
to the sport-appropriate frame, these protective devices can
ensure the wearer’s eye safety.
Eye injuries sustained during sports can have a dramatic
effect on an individual’s lifestyle no matter what the
age. Not only can sight be affected but also one’s career
path, ability to drive a vehicle, and ability to continue
participating in the chosen sport. Consider:
- There is more energy in a squash ball than in a .22 caliber
bullet. A skilled squash or racquetball player can strike
the ball at over 150kph and even a novice can hit the ball
at over 100kph.
- A hockey puck travels at over 120kph.
- Even a badminton shuttlecock in a friendly game can travel
at over 100kmp.
- Eye injuries from sports may cause loss of vision or complete
loss of an eye. They may cause glaucoma in later years.
Even a minor eye injury can cause retinal detachment and
legal blindness.
Industrial Eye Injury Preventation
Most industrial eye injuries could be prevented by the constant
use of appropriate safety glasses or shields. Choice of glasses
or shields depends on the work task. Choice of lens material
(toughened glass, plastic or polycarbonate) is based on practical
considerations and the hazards found in any particular working
environment. Special performance standards for both lenses
and frames are found in the Canadian Standards Association
(CSA) standard and include such characteristics as haze, optical
power, impact and abrasion resistance, flammability and required
markings.
While providing protection from mechanical and splash injuries,
safety glasses also provide protection from radiation. The
shade of filter to be used in safety lenses is determined
by the type of hazardous radiation.
Because there is a relationship between industrial accidents
and visual performance, occupational safety officers are sometimes
involved in pre-employment examinations. If a screening program
identifies a worker whose visual function may not meet required
standards it might be necessary to consult an optometrist
before employment can be offered.
Go to Alberta
Association of Optometrists to learn about their
Occupational Vision Care program. |
