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Finding the Right Eye Protection
The following chart summarizes recommended eye protection for a variety of sports. Visit your eye care professional or local sporting goods store to learn more about the most appropriate type of protective eyewear for your child and to ensure proper fit.
| Sport | 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 (LER)* | Sturdy street-wear frames with polycarbonate or CR-39 lenses |
| Boxing | None is available |
| Fencing | Full-face cage |
| Field Hockey (both sexes) | Goalie: full-face mask; all others: sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| 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 |
| 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 | Sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| Tennis: singles | Sturdy street-wear frames with polycarbonate lenses |
| Track and field (LER)* | Sturdy street-wear frames with polycarbonate or CR-39 lenses |
| Water polo | Swim goggles with polycarbonate lenses |
| Wrestling | None is available |
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* For sports in which face masks or helmets with eye protection are worn, functionally one-eyed athletes and those with previous eye trauma or surgery for whom their ophthalmologists recommend eye protection must also wear sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses to ensure protection. † LER indicates low eye risk. ‡ Goggles without lenses are not effective. § A street hockey ball can penetrate into a molded goalie mask and injure an eye. Source: Reproduced with permission from Pediatrics Vol. 113 (3), Pages 619-622, Copyright 2004 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. |
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Photo provided courtesy of Liberty Sport.
