Don’t forget protective eyewear when outfitting children for summer fun
From sunscreen to protect the skin to shin guards to protect against bumps and bruises, parents are now outfitting kids to ensure a safe summer.
With a range of outdoor and sports activities preferred summer pastimes, protective eyewear should be a key part of summer gear, according to local eye care professionals.
According to the National Eye Institute, each year in the United States, more than 100,000 eye injuries are estimated to be sports-related. More than 42,000 of these sports-related eye injuries require a visit to an emergency room – and the vast majority of these injuries occur in athletes under the age of 25.
Optometrist Dr. Jennifer Gallo is the newest member of the Cape Coral Eye Center family, working out of two of the three North Fort Myers locations. “I’m adamant about protective lenses,” she said. Ninety percent of serious eye injuries are preventable through use of appropriate protective eyewear.
“We won’t use any material in eyewear for anyone under age 18 except polycarbonate, because it is more shatter resistant, so safer for our active youth.”
“We always see a lot more eye injuries in summer,” said Gallo. “Kids are playing more, so we see more paintball injuries, and baseball and basketball wounds. Besides sports, the injuries can occur around the home, like when mowing the grass.”
“Polycarbonate comes in a range of strengths that meet ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards for a variety of sports and activities such as hunting, which makes them safer than most other lenses on impact,” said optician Lynette Dunn, who also works out of the Hancock Bridge branch of the eye center. “It’s actually thinner and lighter than standard plastics and is UV inherent, with that protection built into it. That’s another bonus.”
Dunn’s son Austin wears protective eyewear, especially playing sports.
“It has helped me,” he said, in protecting his eyes.
When you get protective eyewear, you also can get the glasses’ color enhanced to improve sports performance, with different tint colors serving different sports, a bonus both said. Blue is good for tennis, it makes the ball pop. Golf is more amber colors. For boating and fishing, darker is better, such as greys.
These type of lenses aren’t as big and bulky as you would think, she continued. Advances in chemistry now make it possible to make protective eyewear that is virtually indistinguishable from trendy eyeglasses and sunglasses.
They carry Rec Specs, a brand of protective eyewear for the smallest of athletes, and also a brand called Wiley X, which is recognized as a world leader in research and development in protective eyewear. Wiley X is standard issue with the FBI, DEA, Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, and other elite Special Forces around the globe. Most of these can be fitted with prescription lenses.
Sports aren’t the only danger to the eye for children or adults.
From beach goers of all ages, to construction workers and motorcyclists, these local eye care professionals also stress the importance of protective sunwear throughout the year, and especially in the Florida sun.
Gallo’s son Hayden, who is a little more than 2 years old, has been outfitted with sunscreen and protective lenses since he was a baby.
“That’s important to me,” said Gallo. “I’m a native Floridian and he is 2, so we did this early.” She explained that the risk of damage from UV radiation continues to grow as we spend time in the sun throughout our lifetime. Therefore it is important to start sunglasses when they are young, to guard against macular degeneration and early cataracts.
It takes patience, she said, to get a child to always wear protective lenses outdoors. “You need to work at it, but it’s worth it.”
Gallo’s husband is Jeff Gallo, who is General Manager of Gulf Coast Motorcycles. He also promotes protective eyewear use to his motorcycle enthusiasts.
“The law is that if you don’t wear a helmet, you need eyewear; it’s the law,” he said. “We promote helmets, but we tell our customers that if they don’t use them (helmets) they need to have protective eyewear.”
Gallo practices out of the Cape Coral Eye Center North Fort Myers locations at 4085 Hancock Bridge Pkwy #120, and the Bayshore Road location at 5781 Bayshore Rd. and spends one day a week at the main center located at 4120 Del Prado Blvd. S. For information on any of the six Cape Coral Eye Centers, call the main office, 542-2020.