NEW YORK—For sports lovers, Fall is an exciting time. Many sport seasons restart in the Fall, both professional and amateur—which also makes this season the perfect time to talk to your patients about keeping their eyes safe while getting active. This Sports Eye Safety Month, Prevent Blindness has shared new data that shows more than 32,000 sports-related eye injuries were treated in the U.S. last year—an increase of nearly 20 percent from the previous year.

To help ECPs inform patients of the risks sports can have on their eye health, Prevent Blindness is providing free fact sheets, shareable social media graphics and a dedicated webpage, as well as a new episode of its Focus on Eye Health Expert Series. This episode, Sports Eye Safety, features Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, and sports vision specialist Keith Smithson, OD, of Northern Virginia Doctors of Optometry, and Sports Vision Pros.  

Prevent Blindness and Rec Specs are partnering during September’s Sports Eye Safety Month to promote education and awareness on ways to protect vision. To download free educational and promotional materials, including the Sports Eye Safety Guide from Liberty Sport, the company behind Rec Specs, visit LibertySport.com/resources or contact Jon Phillips at (973) 882-0986 x113 or jphillips@libertysport.com. Social media toolkits are also available by request.

In addition, many ECPs have taken to social media to share their own tips and information on keeping your eyes safe this Sports Eye Safety Month. This week, we’re taking a look at just a few posts.

CedarSEE Vision Center in Middletown, Delaware, shared a helpful graphic from the AAO to help patients keep their eyes safe when playing sports. Image via cedarsee.visioncenter on Instagram


Dare Sutton, OD, of Falls City Eye Care in Louisville, Kentucky, posted a video while on a walk with her dog to explain the importance of eye protection while playing sports. Image via fallscityeyecare on Instagram


In Alabaster, Alabama, Shelby Family Eye Care reminded patients to “play it safe” and protect their eyes. Image via shelbyfamilyeyecare on Instagram


In New York City, Manhattan Vision Associates encouraged patients to come into the office to pick up proper eye protection. Image via manhattan_vision_associates on Instagram


Kisiolek Eye Center in Howards Grove, Wisconsin, showcased some protective eyewear available in store. Image via kisiolekeyecenter on Instagram


Carolina Cataract in Ladson, South Carolina, shared some important stats on sports eye safety. Image via carolinacataract on Instagram