April is Sports Eye Safety Month

April has been designated as Sports Eye Safety Month by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Most people are aware of the importance of proper eye protection in sports such as hockey or racquetball, and wear face masks or appropriate safety goggles. Unfortunately, many people are injured each year in a variety of other "less dangerous" sports which also require proper eye protection. D'Ambrosio Eye Care wants to remind patients about the importance wearing protective eyewear when participating in team sports. Some facts for each and every patient to consider are:

• An estimated 40,000 sports eye injuries occur every year. The majority of those being affected by sports eye injuries are children and teenagers, too many of whom suffer permanent visual impairment.


• For young athletes, baseball and basketball account for the largest number of injuries.


• Little League pitchers may throw the ball up to 70 mph - fast enough to break bones and do serious damage to the eye.


• In basketball, you can't prevent contact with flying elbows and fingers, but the serious eye injuries they can cause can be prevented by wearing appropriate protective eyewear.


• Many other popular sports, such as tennis, soccer, football, golf, water sports and hockey, also put unprotected players at risk for serious eye injury.

Studies have shown that by wearing the right protective eyewear more than 90 percent of eye injuries can be prevented.

• Specific eyewear is available for just about all activities. We can recommend the appropriate eyewear for your sport.


• Most protective eyewear, including goggles, face shields and guards should be made of polycarbonate plastic.


• Protective eyewear must be properly fitted by an eye care professional.


• Regular street glasses and contacts do not offer enough protection for sports.

It's up to parents to ensure their children wear eye protection when they play sports.

• Many children's sports leagues, schools and teams don't require children to wear eye protection. Parents should insist that children wear eye protection every time they play and set a good example by wearing eye protection themselves whenever they play.


• One-eyed athletes need to be especially careful by wearing eye protection at all times during sport and recreational activities.


• There's no evidence that wearing eye protection hampers athletic performance. Many famous athletes have excelled in their respective sports while wearing protective eyewear.


• It's a fact! If you play sports, you can get hurt.

Statement on use of 3-D digital products by children

Recently, Nintendo issued a warning about their new 3-D handheld game device that urged parents to prevent children under age 6 years from prolonged viewing of the device's digital images in order to avoid possible damage to visual development.  Other 3-D decive companies have issued similar warnings with their new products.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology provides the following information and recommendations regarding use of 3-D digital products by children and adults.  The Academy's statement is based on accepted medical knowledge and currently available research regarding visual development and function in children and adults.

At this time there are no conclusive studies on the short-and/or long-term effects of 3-D digital products on eye and visual development, health or function in chldren, nor are there persuasive, conclusive theories on how 3-D digital products could cause damage in children with healthy eyes.  The development of normal 3-D vision in children is stimulated as they use their eyes in day-to-day social and natural environments and this development is largely complete by age three years.

Children who have eye conditions such as amylyopia (an imbalance in visual strength between the two eyes), strabismus (misaligned eyes), or other conditions that persistently inhibit focusing, depth perception or normal 3-D vision, would hav e difficulty seeing digital 3-D images.  That does not mean that vision disorders can be caused by 3-D digital products.  However, children (or adults) who have these vision disorders may be more likely to experience headaches and/or eye fatigue when viewing 3-D digital images.

If a healthy child consistently develops headaches or tired eyes, or cannot clearly see the images when using 3-D products, this may indicate a vision or eye disorder.  If such problems occur, the Academy recommends that the child be given a comprehensive exam by an ophthalmologist (and Eye M.D.).

D'Ambrosio Eye Care is pleased to have Oren L. Weisberg, M.D. a pediatric ophthalmologist on it's staff.  Dr. Weisberg sees children to age 18 with eye vision problems.