With Sports-Related Eye Injuries on the Rise, September Is Recognized as Sports Eye Safety Month

CHICAGO—Leading nonprofit patient advocacy group Prevent Blindness has declared September as Sports Eye Safety Month, citing new data that show 43,379 sports-related eye injuries were treated in in the U.S. in 2024, up 33 percent from the previous year. To help educate the public on the importance of wearing proper eye protection and avoid potentially blinding injuries, the organization said it will be providing free eye safety information, including a dedicated webpage, fact sheet, shareable social media graphics and a new video episode of its “Focus on Eye Health Expert Series” titled “Sports Eye Safety,” with sports vision specialist Keith Smithson, OD, of Northern Virginia Doctors of Optometry, and Sports Vision Pros.