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Glass or contact lenses wearer, do not let your eyewear prevent you from playing a sport.
Oct
The Guide to Sports Eyewear. Glasses or Contact Lenses, which one to choose?
Watching Michael Phelps win another gold effortlessly or Simone Biles doing those flips and take the gold at the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio made me think about a non 20/20 vision person swimming or doing some gymnastics with his/her glasses or contact lenses. We bring you tips on how you can do so. Well of course not on how to be gold medallist at the Olympics but how you can swim or flips or do any sports when you are glass or contact lenses wearer.
Contact Lenses
They seem to be Tlution for eyewear if you are a sports person.
The case for wearing contacts is clear:
- They don’t fog up
- They enable you to retain your peripheral vision
- They won’t slip off your face when you sweat
- They are a much safer alternative as they are less likely to cause an eye injury than glasses
- Wearing your prescription contacts also allows you to layer any sport sunglasses or goggles on top of your lenses, even while in a pool.
One of the biggest drawbacks of wearing contacts during sports is that a contact could fall out in the middle of an activity or game.
Glasses
The only advantage of glasses is that nowadays nearly all sports eyewear can be made with prescription lenses, whether you need scuba goggles, sunglasses, or protective sport glasses. At Gaya Opticians, we do have prescription swimming goggles. The disadvantage of prescription sports eyewear is that they are quite expensive.
The major drawback of wearing your day-to-day prescription glasses is that they can break. Also, glasses frames reduce peripheral vision which, functionally, can affect your performance during team sports or intense race situations.
The following chart summarizes recommended eye protection for a variety of sports.
| Sports | Eye protection |
|---|---|
| Badminton | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| Baseball | Polycarbonate face guard or other certified safe protection attached to the helmet for batting and base running; sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses for fielding |
| Basketball | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| Bicycling | Sturdy street-wear frames with polycarbonate or CR-39 lenses |
| Fencing | Full-face cage |
| Field Hockey (both sexes) | Goalie: full-face mask; all others: sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| American Football | Polycarbonate shield on helmet |
| Full-contact martial arts | Not allowed |
| Handball | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| Ice Hockey | Helmet and full-face protection |
| Lacrosse (male) | Helmet and full-face protection required |
| Lacrosse (female) | Should at least wear sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses and have option to wear helmet and full-face protection |
| Racquetball | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| Football/Soccer | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| Softball | Polycarbonate face guard on a helmet for batting and base running; sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses for fielding |
| Squash | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| Street hockey | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses; goalie: full face cage |
| Swimming and pool sports | Swim goggles recommended |
| Tennis: Doubles and Singles | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses or Sturdy street-wear frames with polycarbonate lenses |
| Track and field | Sturdy street-wear frames with polycarbonate or CR-39 lenses |
| Water polo | Swim goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
Gaya Opticians is here to advice you on the proper eyewear for the sports that you practice. Call us to book an appointment.
