A: Many sports activities can cause eye injuries. Basketball is no. 1 for eye injuries, primarily from a finger or elbow in the eye. Most baseball, softball, tennis and racquetball eye injuries result from the ball striking the face or eye.
The most blinding eye injuries occur in golf and street or ice hockey. Because of the small size of a golf ball, the bones around the eye cannot provide protection from a direct hit to the eyeball. In hockey, the thin puck and stick can directly strike the eye causing severe damage.
Of those who suffer sports-related eye injuries, males make up 75 percent and children under age 15 represent the second-highest group suffering injuries from sports.
The severity of eye injuries ranges from corneal abrasions and bruises, fractured eye sockets and facial bones, eye hemorrhages and retinal detachments, to blindness from a direct hit crushing the eyeball.
Although most eye injuries are relatively easy to treat, even the most minor trauma can develop vision-threatening complications and cause decreased vision and recurring difficulties. Injuries to young people can increase the risk of eye problems later in life, such as corneal scarring, premature cataracts, retinal detachment and glaucoma.
Because sports eye injuries often result from high impact and blunt trauma, protective face and eye wear should be considered equipment a player cannot play without. Correct eye wear can reduce the risk of eye injury and the chance of permanent eye damage.
Polycarbonate lenses have high-impact resistance, ultraviolet absorption, good optical qualities and scratch-resistant coatings, and are much safer than regular plastic or glass lenses. People with good vision in only one eye should wear polycarbonate lenses at all times to protect their "good" eye.
( Robert Noecker, M.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology, The University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson)
The information presented here is not intended to replace the advice of your physician. For referral to a UA physician, please call University Health Connection, (520)694-8888.
Health questions should be sent to: ASK AHSC, AHSC Office of Public Affairs, P.O. Box 245095, Tucson, AZ 85724-5095, or E-mail to: jspinell@u.arizona.edu.
ASK AHSC is published by the Office of Public Affairs, The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center.
Editors Note: To receive ASK AHSC via E-mail, call the AHSC Office of Public Affairs, (520)626-7301.
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