Fast Facts

• More than 600,000 eye injuries related to sports and recreation occur each year¹. 42,000 of these injuries are of a severity that requires Emergency Room attention.²
• More than 90% of all eye injuries can be prevented with the use of appropriate protective eyewear.³
• Sports participants using "street wear" (corrective eyewear or sunwear that does not conform to ASTM standard F803) are at a far more severe risk of eye injury than participants using no eye protection at all.⁴
• The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Optometric Association all strongly recommend protective eyewear for all participants in sports in which there is a risk of eye injury.⁵
• The following sports are considered a high-to-moderate risk of eye injury: Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Hockey, Tennis, Soccer, Volleyball, Water Polo, Football, Air Rifle, BB Gun, Paintball, Boxing, Martial Arts, Cricket, Squash, Racquetball, Fencing, Badminton, Fishing and Golf.⁶
• One-in-eighteen college athletes will sustain an eye injury each season. The odds increase to one-in-ten for basketball players.⁷
• One-in-eight victims of severe eye injury, and one-in-twenty victims of less-severe eye injury, initiate legal proceedings against parties assumed to be responsible.⁸

• A market sampling in Michigan⁹ determined that:

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• According to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, 84.6% of children do not utilize protective eyewear in situations that represent a risk of eye injury.
• Increasing the use of protective eyewear in sports is a goal of the National Institute of Health's "Healthy People 2010".¹⁰
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Sources
¹ Tri-Service Vision Conservation and Readiness Program, Eyes (Ears) and Workers Compensation.
² US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Sports and Recreational Eye Injuries. Washington, DC: US Consumer Product Safety Commission; 2000
³ Prevent Blindness America
⁴ National Eye Institute
⁵ AAP/AAO Policy Statement 2004 and 2003 House of Delegates, Journal of American Optometric Association, Sept. 2003
^6-8 Vinger PF. A practical guide for sports eye protection. Phys Sports Med. 2000;28(6)
⁹ Michigan Optometric Association
¹⁰ Healthy People 2010

Carskadden Optical Joins OSI

NORCROSS, Ga.--Optical Services International has expanded its ranks with the addition of a new member, Carskadden Optical of Zanesville, Ohio. Carskadden Optical, founded in 1946, has long been a family-owned lab. "We are pleased to have this excellent lab join our organization,” said OSI president Dana Weeks. “They have a reputation for quality and service, which is what OSI is all about."