Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 20, 1993 TAG: 9304200117
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JANE BRODY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Squash players are now often required to wear eye guards. But tennis players, even those who play fast competitive doubles, rarely do. Face shields that can keep fingers from poking eyes are becoming increasingly popular in the National Football League, but among basketball players, goggles seem to be worn only by players who have already suffered an eye injury.
And now, with the baseball season in full swing, fans will be hard put to find players who properly protect their eyes, even when at bat and facing balls traveling at more than 90 miles an hour along often unpredictable courses.
Have they all forgotten the fate of Tony Conigliaro, an outstanding outfielder and home run hitter for the Boston Red Sox whose career was cut short by a fast ball that broke his cheekbone and severely injured his eye in 1967?
Despite the fear voiced by many players that goggles will impair their performance, there is absolutely no evidence for that. Just ask Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the National Basketball Association's all-time leading scorer who wore goggles on the court for two decades.
Or ask Richard Hilton, who coached the East Marietta, Ga., team that became the 1983 Little League World Champions. All his batters and base coaches wore helmets fitted with clear plastic face shields. Hilton reports that the shields improved, not harmed, the youngsters' performance by reducing fear and building confidence.
He explained that many youngsters were afraid of the ball coming at them at 60 or 70 miles an hour and they froze, which only increased their chance of being hit.
"But once they can put that fear aside and concentrate on the game, some of them can do wonders," he is quoted as saying in the journal Sightsaving. Little League parents and coaches, take note. The East Marietta team improved its home run performance from an average of 20 a season to 65 the first year its players used face shields.
Partly because of the large number of participants, baseball ranks among the top activities for sports-related eye injuries.
But the International Federation of Sports Medicine says the eyes are at considerable risk in any sport that involves the use of a high-speed ball or puck, a bat, racquet or stick or aggressive play with body contact, intentional or otherwise.
Thus, eye protection should be essential for those playing hockey (ice, field or street), racquet sports like squash, racquetball, tennis and badminton, lacrosse, handball, baseball, basketball, football, soccer and volleyball. By properly protecting the eyes, even a one-eyed player can safely participate in such sports.
But for the combat sports that put eyes at the greatest risk, boxing and full-contact karate, there are, unfortunately, no effective devices for protecting eyes. Of 166 boxers examined by Dr. David Smith of the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, 34 were found to have significant eye problems, including cataracts and retinal damage.
And while swimming is considered a low-risk sport for potentially blinding injuries, those who swim in pools without watertight goggles risk a host of bothersome problems.
Dr. David Abramson, an ophthalmologist who was captain of the Harvard swimming team, explains that the cornea of virtually all pool swimmers swells within 30 minutes.
Further corneal irritation is caused by the high or low acid level of pool water and by chloramines that form when chlorine used to purify the water combines with ammonia washed from the skin.
This is not to mention the mechanical irritation that might be caused by waves and debris in pools as well as in open bodies of water.
Let's start with what does not work. Your eyes are not protected by ordinary prescription glasses or sunglasses, whether the lenses are glass or plastic.
In fact, the relative ease with which eyeglass lenses can be broken only increases the risk of injury if you should be struck in the eye, say, by a ball or racquet. Likewise, ordinary eyeglass frames are not strong enough to withstand a high impact, like that of a pitched or hit ball.
The American Society for Testing and Materials and the Canadian Standards Association have developed standards for eye guards for many sports. Look for the ASTM or CSA seal, although other products that have not been submitted for certification may be equally protective.
Virtually all approved eye guards use clear or tinted polycarbonate, a plastic used in the canopies of jet aircraft and in police riot gear. When molded into lenses two or three millimeters thick, polycarbonate can withstand the impact of a bullet.
This is not an arbitrary standard. Because of its greater mass, a squash or racquet ball hit by a novice can hit with the force of a .22-caliber bullet.
To assure good peripheral vision, look for wrap-around one-piece frames, which should be made of strong plastic.
Polycarbonate lenses can be made with your eyeglass prescription, or they can be worn over contact lenses. Polycarbonate face guards for baseball players were initially developed by Lorine S. Caveness to help counter her son's fear of the ball and later marketed to protect the eyes of young players.
If you want information about commercial availability, write Face Guards Inc., 21 West Main Street, Salem, Va. 24153, or call (800) 336-9683.
Jane E. Brody writes about health issues for The New York Times.
by CNB