Sports cause more than 40,000 eye injuries each year that are mostly preventable, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. There are currently no rules in the National Hockey League that require players to wear protective eyewear, and with sticks and pucks constantly flying, eye injuries are fairly common.
Injuries
Hockey players are susceptible to eye trauma, which is mainly caused by pucks. Injuries include corneal abrasions, blunt injuries and penetrating injuries. A corneal abrasion is a scratch on the eye's outer surface, and while it can be painful, it typically is not vision-threatening. Abrasions often are caused by contact with another hockey player's fingernail. Blunt injuries are the result of being hit with an object like a hockey stick that causes a sudden compression of the eye. This can cause a black eye or bleeding in the white portion of the eye, which also typically are not threatening, although a condition called hyphema can lead to vision problems. This occurs when bleeding occurs between the clear cornea and the iris. Blunt injuries also can require stitches if an eyelid is torn. Penetrating injuries also can occur in hockey, and while rare, if a foreign object enters the eye it can be severe and damage vision.
Symptoms
Signs of a serious eye injury can include loss of vision, bleeding on the inside of the eye or on the surface, tears on the outer surface of the eye, or a foreign body located in the eye.
Treatment
All eye injuries should be treated immediately. A team trainer or physician should cover the hockey player's injured eye to protect it from further damage, and the player should then be taken to the nearest emergency department. The treatment of an eye injury varies depending upon the severity of the injury. Sutures, eye drops or patching the eye are often treatment methods for less serious eye injuries, but players who sustain penetrating or certain blunt injuries can require surgery.
Prevention
The best means of protection is wearing protective eye wear while playing hockey. Eye guards can significantly reduce the risk of a severe eye injury. It is important to remember that corrective eye glasses and contact lenses do not protect the eye. In a collision sport- like hockey,- a helmet with a face mask is recommended. In a study of amateur Canadian hockey players, the use of face masks reduced eye injuries by 66 percent, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
