Expert: Vic Winnek - 12/22/2009

Question
I'm near sighted and i want to play football at a jc and i want to know do they make prescription visor like you know glasses but in a face shield form.because i cant see myself wearing glasses or some goggles on the field and contacts are kind of unreliable because if you get hit hard enough they can pop out.

Answer
Joe,
Back on 8/7/07 I answered a similar question.  I have provided some contact information for you below.  It appears that the manufactures for eyes shields have designed the visors for the purpose of protection of the eye, cutting down the sun's glare and keeping other player's fingers out of your eyes. They also claim shields helps reduce facemask grabbing.  They don't seem to market them for prescription use - to aid with eye sight but rather soley for protection from eye injury.

Oakley used to advertised custom eye shields/visors that could be made with prescription, but I have not seen this ad for several years.  In fact most litature I have read indicates The visor/eye shields that fit on football helmets are not available with prescription.

Please know I do not endorse the any of the following but based on my research they do make or claim to make visors for football.  Ordering a clear prescription visor, this is out of my area of expertise.   Please know I played prep and college football with glasses, goggles and contact lens.  I found semi-soft CSI lens worked well for me as they were large and covered the whole eye and did not pop out on me.  You may want to try the goggle or contacts they appear to be your best bet and likely the most affordable route.


The following is a good article and link to research material, names and numbers http://www.lexeye.com/pdf/AAO2.pdf

However I suggest you contact:

American Optometric Association  www.aoa.org

Jim Ellis, D.O. Team Optometrist Ohio State, 1965
University of Chicago School of Optometry, 1969
Jim Ellis has been the “eyes” of the Cincinnati athletic teams since 1978. Jim serves as a lecturer for the athletic training program in the area of eye injury recognition and management.

Athletic Training Program
526 Teacher's College Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0002
(513) 556-3873

Emory University Eye Center
General Information 404-778-2020; Contact Lens Clinic 404-778-5828;  
Optical Shops
404-778-4226 (Emory campus, Building B)
404-778-8714 (Crawford Long's Medical Office Tower Building)

Here is some additional information regarding Prescription visors:  I do not endorse the following but they do make or claim to make visors for football.
More than 90 percent of the 40,000 sports-related eye injuries occurring in the U.S. each year could be prevented simply by wearing protective eyewear during competition.

“Believe it or not, that 90 percent figure is absolutely accurate,” says VSP network doctor Karen Griffith, O.D., summarizing a recent study by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “As an optometrist, I think it’s tragic for someone to end up with a vision impairment from a sports injury that could have been avoided just by wearing impact-resistant glasses or goggles.”

Because a finger in the eye during a basketball game or a wild pitch in baseball could threaten eyesight, Dr. Griffith, of Petaluma , Calif. , recommends athletes playing these games and other high-risk sports — such as racquetball, water polo and downhill skiing — wear protective polycarbonate lenses. Increasingly, athletes rely on one-piece safety goggles with polycarbonate lenses instead of traditional glasses.

“If you prefer polycarbonate eyeglasses, remember to select a onepiece frame,” says Dr. Griffith. “You don’t want a frame or hinge snapping apart and damaging your eye.”

Sports that involve frequent contact and high-speed collisions between players — especially football, ice hockey and men’s lacrosse — require polycarbonate eye shields and face masks made of high-impact metal or plastic.

“Football players can easily find high-impact, transparent eye shields that attach directly to the helmet,” she says. “Hockey and lacrosse players can benefit from specially designed face masks that protect eyes from flying pucks or lacrosse balls.”

Dr. Griffith is quick to point out that children are especially at risk for sports-related eye injuries — with more than 41 percent of all such injuries taking place among athletes younger than 15.

“Protecting your child’s eyesight on the playing field is important,” says Dr. Griffith, who recently outfitted her 8-yearold daughter with a face shield for softball. “The good news is that you can easily get all the help you need simply by asking your eye doctor for guidance.”

Paintball Eye Injuries on the Upswing

A paintball often travels at 200 miles an hour when it leaves the barrel of a paintball gun. That’s twice the speed of the fastest pitcher in major league baseball.

Not surprisingly, eye injuries are common in this popular sport, in which players simulate combat by shooting one another with paint-filled pellets. And while some 2,500 paintball playing fields nationwide require safety goggles, many eye injuries occur during informal play in backyards or woods.

Paintball eye injuries can lead to serious and permanent damage. When researchers followed up on eye injuries treated in emergency rooms, 43 percent of players injured reported vision of 20/200 or worse.

The Big Five: Sports-Related Eye Injuries by the Numbers

These five sports cause the largest number of eye injuries each year, according to Prevent Blindness America:


Basketball
8,500 eye injuries/year
Goggles with polycarbonate lenses, padding at bridge of nose and sides

Baseball
6,100 eye injuries/year
Batting helmet with face mask, goggles with polycarbonate lenses

Swimming
3,400 eye injuries/year
Flexible goggles that fit around and water sports eye socket, sturdy lenses with antifog coating, UV protection

Racquetball
3,200 eye injuries/year
Goggles with and court sports polycarbonate lenses

Football
2,200 eye injuries/year
Face mask, polycarbonate eye shield that fits on helmet and includes antifog coating, UV
protection and scratch resistance

Dr. Denis Humphreys, O.D.
VSP Optometry Director

Dr. Mark Bronstein, M.D.
VSP Medical Director

Personalized eyecare from VSP helps you see well, stay healthy, and maximize your individual potential. It's who we are.
Altair Eyewear
10875 International Drive
Rancho Cordova , CA 95670
800.505.5557 phone
800.982.9732 fax
altairweb@vsp.com

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Attention: Eyefinity Jobs
PO Box 2710
Rancho Cordova , CA 95741-2710

Contact Information
Customer Service
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614) 409-8900
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2605 Rohr Road
Lockbourne, OH 43137

You may want to go to the Oakley website and ask if they will make a custom visor for you with your prescription. http://www.oakley.com/pd/2197  Anmother site you may want to check is http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/football.html


Below is From http://www.sporteyes.com/football.htm

Polycarbonate Lenses: This is the most important property of all protective goggles. Good polycarb is virtually unbreakable, and will sustain the impact of a ball or finger.

Durable Frame Design: The frame must also be able to withstand the impact of a ball or finger. Therefore, a frame made out of polycarbon is the the best choice. Shields are becoming more popular for this sport, however, do not offer the best protection. (see coverage below).

Coverage: The frame must cover the entire eye socket, not only the eyeball itself. Impact to any of the "soft" parts of the eye can cause serious damage. Look for a frame that sits closely to the face, as a finger can easily make its way through any gap. Shields can easily become dislodged so a finger can penetrate underneath. Be careful if choosing this option.

Padding: The frame should have padding at the temple points and bridge points to "cushion the blow". Padding will absorb some of the shock to lessen the overall impact, and to assure the frame itself does not cause damage to the facial structures.

Helmet Compatible: Since helmets are required in this sport, the frame should be designed to fit securely under a helmet.  Temple pieces or a goggle specifically designed for helmet sports should be selected.

Lens Color:  A clear lens is the best for general purpose use. However, if you are playing in bright sunlight or have light sensitivity, a gray tinted lens can be used.
Prescription Lenses: A goggle gives the widest field of view for the athlete. Shield must be fit with a prescription insert that fits behind the lens, and therefore, limits the periphery a little.  Wrap frames also work for low prescriptions.  In high prescriptions, wrapped styles will cause some distortion.

Recommended Styles: Rec Specs Helmet Specs --meet all of the above requirements, and can be fit with a prescription lens, and are designed to work with Helmets.  Or the Hilco Jam'n (kids size) or T-Zone (adult size) have a separate strap adapter to make it helmet compatible.  Shields type sunglass designs these are not the safest type of frame as they can be easily dislodged and do not provide the same protection. Other good shields that don't meet the ASTM sports standard but do appeal cosmetically are from Bolle, Rudy Project and Wiley-X.   Or, you choose a regular sunglass style and put clear (or tinted) safety lenses in them.  Secure the frame with a strap.  Again, this is not the safest option. The shields that fit on football helmets are not available with prescription.


Football helmet shields can protect against a kick in the face by Emily Caldwell, 18 November 2008; Science Centric
http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=08111850-football-helmet-shield...


Gregory Good, OD, PhD, professor of clinical optometry, and his team of researchers have determined that the two most popular brands of football helmet faceshields can withstand a hit equivalent to a kick in the face and provide that protection without harming one's eye or without disrupting players' vision.

The eye specialists at Ohio State University used an air cannon to hurl baseballs at the plastic faceshields. The impact was designed to mimic the force of a kick to the face, considered the riskiest way to sustain an eye injury in football.

The shields maintained their structural integrity after baseballs were propelled at the faceshields at velocities of up to 218 feet per second, or nearly 150 miles per hour. Measures of optical quality also showed that the curved, plastic shields do not add any corrections or distortions to players' vision.

The faceshields' protective potential bolsters an argument favouring mandatory use of the shields for college-age football players and younger, said Gregory Good, professor of clinical optometry at Ohio State and a coauthor of the study. Collegiate programs currently do not mandate their use.

'I think this would be a good idea not only from a collegiate standpoint, but all the way down to peewee football, especially for players with good vision in only one eye,' Good said. 'Players in the pros can make their own decisions, but it would be helpful to have coaches and managers on board to convince kids in high school and younger kids especially to wear faceshields. At that age, kids typically don't have enough experience to make a decision about safety on their own.'

The research is published in a recent issue of the journal Optometry.

The study tested the two most popular collegiate and professional football helmet faceshields by manufacturers Oakley, based in Foothills Ranch, Calif., and Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon. The companies donated faceshields for use in the study. The average cost is $45 to $50 per shield.

The researchers conducted the air cannon work at ICS Laboratories in Brunswick, Ohio. Good completed the study with Kathryn Baker, Deborah Grzybowski, William McLaughlin and Steven Katz of Ohio State's Department of Ophthalmology; Aaron Zimmerman of Ohio State's College of Optometry; and Dale Pfriem of ICS Laboratories.

Because no current performance standard exists for football helmet faceshields, the researchers used the air cannon testing method that is already approved to assess face protectors for baseball and lacrosse. The American Society for Testing and Materials sets the requirements for face and eye protection used in numerous sports.

In the study, 10 football visors from each company were struck once at numerous velocities. Two visors from each company were hit three times to evaluate the effects of repeated blows. Other faceshields were struck once in sub-freezing temperatures. None of the faceshields broke under any of the impact conditions.

The highest velocity equated to an impact force of about 2,500 Newtons, or 562 pounds of force. Previous research has reported a maximum kicking motion impact of 2,439 Newtons, or 548 pounds of force, in soccer.

The researchers determined that new football faceshields hold up solidly to high-velocity impact, but whether that strength is maintained over the duration of one or more football seasons is open to debate and is part of continuing research.

The researchers also analysed various qualities of the curved plastic that might affect vision - such as light distribution, hazing or a prismatic effect that changes the direction of light. The shields exceeded standards related to these measures.

'Both brands are of high optical quality, and both hold up to high-velocity impact,' Good said.

Though serious eye injuries in football are relatively rare, the researchers mentioned the case of Orlando Brown of the Cleveland Browns, whose eye was inadvertently hit by a referee's thrown penalty flag during a game in 1999. He missed several seasons after the injury.

A summary of National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data shows that about one-third of football-related eye injuries documented between 2002 and 2006 were caused by the football itself and almost one-fifth were from finger pokes. The data do not specify whether these injuries occurred during organised games or 'street' play. Other data also show in 2000, U.S. emergency rooms treated an estimated 40,000 sports-related eye injuries.

And more than 10 years ago, the sports safety committees of the American Academy of Paediatrics and the American Academy of Ophthalmology issued a report recommending that football helmets be equipped with a polycarbonate faceshield for face and eye protection. They were responding to a 1993 report by Prevent Blindness America indicating that football was the fifth-greatest contributor to sports-related eye injuries in patients younger than 25.

Good said that rather than trying to judge players' susceptibility to eye injuries, the researchers focused on outlining the potential benefits that faceshields would provide.

But they know there is more to the story. They are following up by surveying football and equipment managers at about 120 collegiate programs in the United States to gauge player use of and attitudes about helmet faceshields. The researchers also have exposed new faceshields to three hours of sunlight per day this autumn and will retest their impact resistance after a season's worth of exposure to see if the radiation affects the faceshields' durability.

'We noticed the older faceshields we used in a pilot study didn't hold up as well, and we believe it could be because of exposure to radiation, at least in part,' Good said.