American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Ophthalmology “Joint Policy Statement on Protective Eyewear for Young Athletes” includes recommendations on sports safety eyewear that conforms to American Society for Testing and Materials standards. www.sportseyeinjuries.com/docs/Protective_eyewear.pdf.
Vision Service Providers’ Eyewear Discovery Center features “answers to your eye health questions,” including eye safety at different ages. www.vsp.com.
Optometric Physicians of Washington’s Web site includes a section on “eye care” with information on safety and diseases and on free eye exams for babies and children from families that meet income guidelines. www.eyes.org.
Washington Poison Center, in addition to your family eye doctor and 911, is a resource if your child gets liquid or fine particles in her eye. Call 1-800-222-1222.
Dr. Karen Preston’s Product Recommendations:
Rec Specs by Liberty Optical are high-performance safety glasses for kids who play sports. www.libertyoptical.com.
ACUVUE contact lenses, with or without prescription corrections, can be made with UV protection. www.acuvue.com.
Transitions lenses darken in response to the amount of sun exposure. www.transitions.com.
Summertime, when children are playing outdoors, can be a dangerous time for their eyes. Parents need to pay close attention to protecting children’s eyes from the two greatest dangers – injuries and UV rays.
Sports, particularly baseball, soccer and basketball, cause the most eye injuries to kids – impact injuries in baseball, detached retinas from hard head hits in soccer, and finger pokes in basketball.
Karen Preston, a Bellevue pediatric optometrist, and Seattle optometrist Mark Hamilton recommend face masks or safety eyewear for children who regularly play organized sports, including tennis and other racquet sports. Hamilton notes that eye injuries are far less common in football and hockey, which require masks.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommend safety sports eyewear that conforms to American Society for Testing and Materials standards for high-risk sports.
Hamilton, a representative of Vision Service Plan, a nonprofit that bills itself as the nation’s largest provider of vision health benefits, regrets the fact that “cool wins out over protection,” when it comes to wearing masks, safety goggles or protective glasses. Preston agrees, but says she’s encouraged that the eyewear industry is starting to cater more to children’s tastes than it used to.
Random injuries – caused by fireworks, rocks thrown up by lawnmowers, fishing hooks, sparks from fires and projectiles, and kids accidentally poking each other’s eyes with fingers or sticks – can only be prevented by educating and warning kids, Preston says.
If your child’s eye gets injured, she recommends first trying to reach your child’s eye doctor, and if she can’t be reached, calling 911 or Poison Control. Hamilton advises against trying to flick objects out of a child’s eye yourself, as the cornea is very sticky and foreign objects can be difficult to remove without damaging the surface of the eye.
For tiny specks or liquids in the eyes, the rule is to “rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse – for an unreasonable amount of time” (15 to 20 minutes), Preston says. A saline or contact lens solution is more comfortable, but plain water is fine. The first minute is critical, so begin washing the eye right away while someone else calls for help. This is especially true for bleach or lye, which is more damaging than acid, and must be continually washed out until a professional is available.
As for the sun, more than 80 percent of our lifetime ultraviolet (UV) exposure occurs before age 18. Sun damage is cumulative and can possibly lead to cataracts and other degenerative diseases later in life. “Parents should consider sun protection for the eyes as important as sun protection for the skin,” Preston says.
Sun damage to the back of the retina is a higher risk for light-skinned people, Hamilton adds. “The fairer the skin, the more impact the sun will have on the back of the retina,” Hamilton says.
Hamilton notes that a good hat with a brim blocks 60 percent of the sun’s rays from the eyes, and this is often the best option for babies and toddlers, who may not keep sunglasses on. However, Preston points out that “if you get babies and toddlers started wearing sunglasses early, it will be ingrained behavior when they are older.” Hats with pull-down sunglasses may be a good option.
Optometrists recommend that children wear sunglasses when they will be out in the sun for an extended period of time. They recommend polarizing lenses that reduce glare if kids are involved in boating, skiing or other activities that expose them to reflected sunlight.
It’s important to get high-quality sunglasses with a UV protection stamp – preferably ones that protect from the more harmful UVB rays, as well as UVA rays. “A lot of cheap sunglasses can be stamped ‘100 percent UV-blocking,’ but they might have been labeled in Singapore or China, and you don’t know what you’re getting,” Hamilton says. “You think you’re protecting yourself, but it’s actually worse (than no sunglasses) – the dark glasses make the eyes dilate, so more UV rays get in.” He recommends buying name- brand glasses, preferably from an optometrist.
Preston believes most sunglasses with a UV sticker on them are now safe, and that it is not necessary to buy expensive brands. She recommends sunglasses that wrap around the sides of the eyes to protect from more rays.
Ultimately, Hamilton says, the best sunglasses are the ones kids think are cool enough to wear.
