Editorial

Optician Susan Ferron almost lost an eye to a bungee cord. She was gardening and the cord that she used to fasten cut branches together broke. The metal end flew at her, with the main part striking the top of her brow at the orbital globe of her left eye socket, leaving behind two pin hole marks in the eye ball where the hook hit. The result: acute iritis. "It was excruciating," she says. "But I was lucky. The ophthalmologist said I was the first person he'd seen struck by a bungee cord who didn't have the eye completely split open."

Hindsight says, of course, that Ferron should have been wearing protective eyewear. She sells a lot of it, mainly for sports protection, in her InSightful Visions store in Sechelt, B.C. "My experience really helps to affirm my belief that as opticians we need to be promoting eye safety, especially with children who play sports."

The U.S.-based National Institutes of Health (NIH) says eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children in that country and that most of those occurring in school-aged children are sports-related. Ninety percent of these injuries can be avoided with protective eyewear.*

Brooke Siver is a former squash pro and the president of Manta World Sport. He recommends that eye care professionals work with sporting bodies and school boards to get more protective eyewear into the schools and other places where kids are engaged in sports. “Protective eyewear not only protects the person wearing it but also the organization providing the facility and instruction. When I’m coaching squash and someone shows up without eyewear, I always give them a pair to wear. The last thing I need is a lawsuit when someone gets hit in the eye.”

Check out our feature article about sports eyewear in this issue. You can read about the business case for selling more of it from some opticians who specialize in this area, and catch up on the latest products for active people regardless of their age.

This issue is jammed packed with much to inform and educate you about eye health, vision research, professional issues and industry news.  I hope you enjoy reading and I thank you for spending time with us.

*You can learn more about protective eyewear for specific sports at the National Eye Institute website at http://isee.nei.nih.gov/sports

Paddy Kamen