Sports Vision

Play Sports? Protect Your Eyes with Special Glasses from Your San Antonio Optometrist

When you play any kind of sport, whether as a team or individual, a professional or for fun; the better you can see, the better you play. Even if you have perfect 20/20 vision when performing normal tasks, sometimes your vision isn’t as sharp during sports. At The Vision Place, serving the San Antonio area, our optometrist will not only perform a complete eye exam but will also perform special eye tests just for sports.

Optometry Tests for Sports

There are four eye tests that can help enhance your game. A contrast sensitivity exam tests your ability to see small differences between light and dark, while a doctor performs a color perception test to check if you can see a small, colored object, like a golf ball. A binocular vision test checks your ability to see how far away objects are. The final test an optometrist may perform is an eye team and tracking test to determine if your eyes can follow a fast-moving object.

Eye Care in Sports

No matter your sport or age, it is important to protect your eyes from the following injuries that affect nearly 14,000 people according to Prevent Blindness and Friends of Sight: retinal tears, inflamed iris, traumatic cataracts, fractured eye sockets, bleeding in the eye, and cornea scratches and scars. Some of these injuries can happen from trauma, like getting hit in the eye. Others are less obvious but just as serious as chemical burns from exposure to too much chlorine when swimming; getting specks of dust, sand or dirt in your eyes; or damaging your eyelid. A family history of retinal holes or tears also puts athletes at a higher risk for eye injuries. More than 40,000 people visit the emergency room every year for eye injuries caused by sports, says Friends for Sight website. Almost 45 percent of sports vision issues happen in children under 15 and 72 percent happen to people under 25 years old, Friends for Sight said. In 2017 alone, 7,000 children suffered eye injuries for swimming and pool activities. This is more than doubled the injury rates for baseball, basketball and even football, Prevent Blindness says.

Preventing Sports Vision Injuries

For contact sports like basketball or racquet sports like tennis, baseball or hockey, it is essential to wear goggles. If you wear a helmet, either make sure to wear goggles under the helmet or make sure the helmet comes with a face shield. Sunglasses or regular glasses are not proper protection and can actually make eye injuries worse. Since 90 percent of sports injuries are preventable with proper eyewear, your San Antonio optometrist has an entire section of sports eyewear frames and lenses for children and adults.

Contact The Vision Place in San Antonio, TX!

Contact our optometrist at The Vision Place in San Antonio to make an appointment for an assessment of your eyes. Call our office today at 210-764-1113 to find out more information.