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Sports eyewear protects the eyes from damage through impact and UV radiation, and it is also proven to enhance performance.
Protecting eyes from impact
According to the Eyecare Trust, sport is the biggest cause of hospital admission for serious eye injuries in the UK – more than DIY injuries. For example, 1 in 3 squash players will suffer some form of eye injury.
Sports such as tennis and badminton may seem relatively safe compared with contact sports such as rugby, but as they involve balls moving at 60 miles per hour or faster and the danger to eyes from flying balls or racquets is considerable.
In other sports, where players are moving actively close to each other, many eye injuries result from accidental pokes by fingers and elbows. Basketball and swimming, for example, have high rates of eye injury.
Protecting eyes from UV light
The most common skiing injury is not to legs or arms, but to eyes due high levels of ultraviolet (UV) light.
Because the atmosphere is very clear on the ski slopes and snow also reflects light, UV levels are particularly high, even on cloudy days.
Goggles or sport sunglasses are essential for those participating in skiing, snow boarding or other snow sports. Lightweight polycarbonate lenses are ideal for outdoor sports because they block 100% of the sun's harmful UV rays, as well as being lightweight and shatter-resistant.
Visit the Eyecare Trust website for more advice on eye protection for snow sports.
Enhancing performance
Wearing the correct sports eyewear is proven to improve performance.
Tinted lenses are used by tennis players for example because they can see the rotation of the ball more clearly and therefore make better contact with their racquet.
For mountain biking, sunglasses with the appropriate lens tint increase safety by enabling them to see the track more clearly when travelling downhill at high speeds.
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