Overview
Ordinary glasses are not protective equipment. Standard lenses shatter, and standard frames are not designed to keep anything out. Sports and safety eyewear uses polycarbonate or trivex lenses in frames built and tested to take an impact.
Most sports-related eye injuries are preventable with the right eyewear, and prescription versions exist for essentially every sport and every workplace standard.
What happens during the visit?
- A discussion of the sport or the job, since the standards differ.
- Frame selection rated to the relevant standard, with proper retention straps where needed.
- Impact-resistant lenses, tinted, polarised or clear as appropriate.
- Fitting for helmet or goggle compatibility.
- Options for swimmers, and for anyone who cannot wear contacts under a mask.
Who should book one?
- Anyone playing racket sports, basketball, baseball, hockey, or contact sports.
- Anyone working with power tools, chemicals, grinding, welding or dust.
- Anyone who has already lost useful vision in one eye — protecting the other is not optional.
- Children in organised sport, who are both more exposed and less careful.
How to prepare
- Know which standard you need — your employer or league can usually tell you.
- Bring your helmet or mask if the eyewear has to fit inside it.
- Bring a current prescription.
- Ask whether your employer or club reimburses; many do.
This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Only an eye care professional who has examined you can tell you what is actually going on.