Protective eyewear is available with and without prescription lenses, ranging from plastic safety goggles available at the local home improvement center to custom-made eyewear with UV and anti-glare treatments designed for a specific athletic or occupational need. Whether for sports or work, protective eyewear should fit snugly and provide clear, distortion-free vision with comfortable and durable straps, frames and lenses.

Some non-prescription eyewear is made to fit over glasses, but most experts say contact lenses are typically preferred over eyeglasses because they provide better peripheral vision and depth perception, which may boost performance in athletic or work chores. For sports, soft lenses are generally preferred over RGPs, which can cut or scratch the cornea if they break. Even with soft contacts, protective goggles or face shields should be worn for maximum protection.

Who’s At Risk?

Protective eyewear should be worn if there is any chance of getting hit in the eye by an object moving quickly – whether it’s a ball, a body part or any type of flying debris – or if you’re working or playing in an environment with substantial wind, dirt, pollution or excessive glare or UV radiation.

Approximately 100,000 sports-related eye injuries occur each year – with a per-sport incidence rate typically ranging between 10 and 40 percent. Statistically, the highest risk sports are basketball, baseball, ice hockey, football, lacrosse, racquetball and soccer, but there’s a growing trend among “extreme” sports such as mountain biking and snow boarding. Baseball accounts for the largest percentage of eye injuries in children, basketball tops the list of teens and young adults, and racquetball causes the most injuries in those older than 30.

Eye protection is also necessary in any environment with chemicals, vapors, splashes, dust, metal or wood shavings, fiberglass or glass, and is recommended when doing yard work or home repairs. Most of the 110,000 eye injuries that occur each year in U.S. homes result from splashes with household cleaners, flying debris such as wood chips or getting hit by branches.

Protection is especially important to those considered to be at higher risk for getting a serious eye injury during sports or while doing chores at work or around the home. These high-risk candidates include people who have:

• Undergone LASIK, radial keratotomy or another procedure that requires an incision in the eye
• Retinal thinning or are highly nearsighted, which puts them at risk for retinal detachments
• Diabetes or a systemic disease that can weaken the attachment of the lens in the eye
• Recently taken anticoagulant medications, which result in a tendency to bleed more easily

Materials

For sports and workplace protection, polycarbonate lenses are the best choice because this material is more impact-resistant than other plastics. And these lenses can easily be treated with anti-reflective coatings, ultraviolet light blockers and other treatments to provide additional protection to the cornea, lens and the retina.

In the past, glass and other plastics were also used in workplace eyewear. Glass offers the best optical properties and is highly scratch-resistant, while plastics were cited for their light weight and ability to be stand up to chemicals. But poly manufacturers have made significant strides in recent years – not only in the optical quality of the material, but also in proprietary coatings that give their lenses "the optics of glass." There is a new ultra-clear polycarbonate material called Resolution and an entirely new lens material called Trivex, which its manufacturer claims has the same impact-resistance as poly, but with improved optics.

Polarized sun lenses (available in polycarbonate materials) have also become a popular lens option among athletes because they are specifically designed to reduce or eliminate reflected glare off surfaces such as roads, snow, water or ice. This makes them ideal for water sports and snow activities like skiing and snowboarding.

Designs

Don't assume that "professional-grade" sports protective gear offers better protection. For instance, sports products such as hockey shields that are designed for "professional use" are usually not as protective as those designed for amateur sports use. The reason: Professial athletes want less cumbersome gear. However, professional work goggles are typically superior.

Sports eyewear includes:

• Basic sturdy frames with polycarbonate lenses, rugged temples and strong bridges for non-contact sports.

   

• Sports goggles that include padded or rubber bridges, a face-fitting shape that provides a wider field of view, deep grooves in the frame to hold the lenses in place during impact. These are generally advised for sports such as basketball, volleyball and soccer to protect your from incoming objects – large (balls) and small (fingers).

   

• Goggles and masks for “element” sports such as swimming, water skiing, snow skiing, scuba diving and skydiving. These products are often treated with special anti-glare and UV-protective coatings, and like other protective eyewear, can be made to fit your corrective lenses prescription.

   

• Wraparound sun-style glasses for extreme sports, many of which are performed at high altitudes. These also include polycarbonate lenses and ultraviolet (UV) protection.

   

• Eye/face guards (that can be worn over glasses) that attach to helmets for football, hockey, lacrosse and other high-impact sports.

Protective eyewear for use at work or at home include:

• Safety glasses that protect eyes from flying particles and, to some degree, from hazardous chemicals. They look like “regular” glasses, but may include shields that attach to the sides of the frame for added protection. Anyone who does machine tooling, woodworking, or grinding should wear glasses with side shields.

   

• Safety goggles that are designed to be worn over prescription glasses. Because they seal against the face, they usually offer better protection than glasses and complete front and side protection from airborne debris and chemicals. They are ideal for doing yard work and home repairs.

   

• Face shields protect the face from corrosive chemicals, blood or potentially infectious liquids, flying chips, and other airborne debris. They are not designed to protect the eye from heavy impact and primarily used by people who work in laboratories or handle light chemicals. Face shields should not be worn as primary eye protection. They do not seal against the face, so goggles are recommended for wear under the shield to protect the eyes specifically.

   

• Welding goggles, shields and helmets protect eyes against intense light and hot sparks. Since welding generates infrared light, which damages the eyes, these products also have an infrared-absorbing filter. Color and tint are not guarantees of protection against infrared exposure.

   

• Task-specific eyewear is designed specifically for protection against dangers such as lasers or radiation.

Lens Care

Protective eyewear should be cleaned with warm soap and water. A clean, soft, lint-free cloth can clear grease and dirt from lenses without danger of scratching. Avoid using solvent or paper products on your protective eyewear. To sterilize and disinfect safety lenses, gas or ultraviolet light can be used. Alternatively, the lenses can be immersed for 10 minutes in a generic liquid disinfectant. Check the label to ensure that it does not harm plastic or polycarbonate materials. Allow the lenses to air dry after soaking them, as rinsing with water will stop the disinfecting process. Disinfectant sprays are also available from safety eyewear manufacturers.

Cracked, pitted or scratched lenses should be replaced immediately because faults in the lenses reduce visibility and compromise impact resistance. Eyewear should be inspected before and after every use.