Check your Eye-Q
Question 1
- Myth: Wearing everyday street eyewear or fashion sunwear while participating in sports minimizes the potential for eye injury.
- Fact: Regular prescription eyeglasses and fashion sunwear do not provide adequate protection and are not held to the same performance standards as eyewear labeled for protective use-such as Rec Specs. The lens in your child’s frames could pop out and puncture or cut the eye or the frame itself could cause an injury.
Question 2
- Myth: Only children are at a high risk for sports-related eye injuries.
- Fact: While school-aged children between the ages of 5 to 14 represent the largest segment of sports-related eye injuries, every athlete’s eyes are targets for an injury. Regardless of an individual’s age or skill level, even advanced athletes may suffer injuries as a result of aggressive play.
Question 3
- Myth: Contact lens wearers do not need eye protection.
- Fact: Contact lenses may give you or your child perfect vision, but no contact lens, hard or soft, can protect against eye injury. Impact to the eye can dislodge the lens or fold over a contact lens putting an adult or child at risk for eye injury. Many eye injuries are caused by blunt trauma, such as from a ball, stick or elbow, that contact lenses offer no protection against.
Question 4
- Myth: Wearing a helmet or faceguard protects your children’s eyes from injuries.
- Fact: Your child’s eyes are still exposed to danger from an opponent’s fingers, as well as parts of the sports equipment that can penetrate the openings of a facemask. The helmet can also be knocked off, leaving them completely vulnerable to injury.
Question 5
- Myth: Sport protective eyewear fitted with glass or ordinary plastic lenses provide adequate protection against injury.
- Fact: Only polycarbonate lenses are recommended for use in protective sports eyewear. F8 / Rec Specs protective sports eyewear require polycarbonate lenses at least 2.0mm thick. Never wear protective eyewear without the appropriate polycarbonate lenses.
