Outfit eyes for safety

Shin guards for soccer. Shoulder pads for football. Batting helmets for baseball and softball. Almost every sport has its own safety equipment.

But according to Dr. Marty Schneider, therapeutic optometrist, most participants in sports forget to protect one of the most important parts of the body: the eyes.

"Every year, more than 40,000 people suffer injuries to the eyes while playing sports," Schneider said. "Most of these could be avoided by wearing proper eye protection."

Protective sports eyewear can help prevent injuries such as fracture of the eye socket, scratched corneas, swollen retinas and cataracts caused by trauma to the eye, Schneider said.

Parents of children who participate in sports should consider protective eyewear as essential as the faceguard on a football or baseball helmet. "September is Sports Eye Safety Awareness Month," Schneider said. "And we encourage anyone who participates in sports, children and adults alike, to remember to outfit the eyes for safety. Today's protective eyewear is lightweight, comfortable and available with our without vision correction."

Schneider owns and practices at Camarillo Vision Center, an optometric practice at 2460 E. Las Posas, No. B. For more information, call (805) 987-2400.