last word
Playing It SAFE
by Amy Spiezio

For ECPs, safety goes hand-in-hand with sports eyewear. The trick is sharing that knowledge with the public. This month's question: What is your focus when it comes to sports eyewear safety? If you have a story to share, or would like to see a subject covered, please E-mail us at editor@eyecarebusiness.com or send a fax to 215-643-1705.

I recommend sports safety eyewear for reliability, flexibility, and customer service as far as the vendor goes. I mention sports safety eyewear to the patients and I bring frames over to them. Some have specific needs, but in general I will bring the subject up as part of lifestyle dispensing.

Randi Jaburek,
New York State licensed optician
Moss Opticians,
Huntington Village, N.Y.

You have to make sure the fit is correct. It doesn't matter if it's a safety frame with polycarbonate lenses if it doesn't fit correctly.

Pamela Tramontana, optician.
Madeira Optical
incinnati, Ohio

We're in the sport fishing capital of the world, and the main client focus is on polarization. They spend thousands of dollars working with a guide and, generally, the guide or the fishing magazines explain polarization to them, so it's a no brainer. Some like a lens with an eight-base wrap some prefer a flatter lens with a side shield.

We recommend zyl frames in color black because the other frames transmit light and you're trying to transmit as little light as possible.

On the water, you want to keep as much backlight off your lenses and as many haloes as you can avoid, so you always use black frames.

Ken Philipson, FNAO
Kenco's Tropical Optical,
Islamorda, Fla.

We have to focus on the particular aspects of each sport. You get a lot of variations depending on what they're into. We start out specifically looking at the frame design, such as wind deflection and keeping the wind out of the eye. This is important for contact lens and spectacle lens wearers.

In Boulder, we have a lot of cyclists and it can be pretty aggressive downhill racing. The gear is almost like motocross and [for eyewear] the lenses go from sun to shadow and have crash potential.

Once we establish the best scenario for the frame concept, we look at the fashion.

Thomis Buell
Tom's Sportique Eyewear
Boulder, Colo.

Safety Zone

The Coalition to Prevent Sports Eye Injuries (www.sportseyeinjuries.com) cites a study from the National Eye Institute as a real eye opener for sports eye safety awareness: "Sports participants using 'street wear' (corrective eyewear or sunwear that does not conform to ASTM standard F803) are at a far more severe risk of eye injury than participants using no eye protection at all."

Other statistics from the site include the following:

More than 600,000 eye injuries related to sports and recreation occur each year (Tri-Service Vision Conservation and Readiness Program, Eyes (Ears) and Workers Compensation).

More than 90 percent of all eye injuries can be prevented with the use of appropriate eyewear (Prevent Blindness America).

One-in-eight victims of severe eye injury, and one-in-20 victims of less severe eye injury, initiate legal proceedings against parties assumed to be responsible (Vinger PF. A practical guide for sports eye protection. Phys Sports Med. 2000;28(6)).