Who should wear sports eyeglasses?
Young athletes need protective sports eyewear. Most of the 100,000 eye injuries that occur in this country every year happen to school-age athletes, and a large percentage of them could be prevented with appropriate eyewear, says the National Society to Prevent Blindness. In fact, to protect their eyes from injury, all athletes — even those who do not need corrective lenses — should wear sports eyeglasses. Contoured, wrap-around goggles for such sports as biking, skiing, sailing and hang-gliding are available for either prescription or nonprescription lenses. It’s important that sports eyewear fits properly, especially for children. Cost-conscious parents sometimes buy goggles that are too large for a child, on the theory that the child can grow into them. But when the eyeglass frames are too loose, the frames lose their effectiveness and a flying ball or puck can cause eye damage. Frames that are too tight are not only uncomfortable but also obstruct peripheral vision.
