Protective sports eyewear has become de rigueur -- a requirement for almost anyone who wants to pick up a ball, bat, racquet or stick, whether they be a major leaguer or a Little Leaguer.

Kids can be a bit more resistant to the idea of "looking funny" while they play, but sports goggles are quickly becoming an accepted part of society, much as bike helmets have become the norm. And for good reason: according to the National Society to Prevent Blindness, of the 100,000 eye injuries sustained each year, the largest number are attributed to school-age athletes.

Beyond the objects involved in various athletic pursuits, many eye injuries are caused by pokes and jabs by fingers and elbows, particularly in games where players come into close contact with each other. Basketball, for example, has an extremely high rate of eye injury.

Features to Look for

Eyewear that offers maximum protection is available in both prescription and nonprescription styles. The frames are constructed of highly impact-resistant plastic or polycarbonate, and most have rubber padding that cushions the sides of the frame where they come into contact with the head, as well as in the nose area.

Lenses made for sports eyewear must be made of polycarbonate in order to meet industry requirements for safety. Polycarbonate is the most impact-resistant lens material, and it is effective at protecting the eye from fast-moving objects. Polycarbonate lenses also have built-in ultraviolet protection and scratch-resistant properties -- pluses for outdoor sports.

Some nonprescription sports styles are contoured, wrapping slightly around the face. These goggles are excellent for biking, hang-gliding, and sailing. Contact lens wearers especially benefit from the wrap- around style, as it discourages wind and dust from penetrating the eye area.

It is important that goggles be fitted correctly for each wearer. Proper fitting is not a huge challenge for adults, but when it comes to children, there is a temptation to purchase a goggle that is much too large in order to give the child "room to grow." A small amount of growing room is acceptable, and sports goggles are made to be a bit flexible in terms of width adjustment. However, if the frame is much too large, the sides of the goggle wind up pressing against the soft flesh of the temples. Allowing the goggle to rest at this point can pose a danger to the child under impact.

Allowing a youngster to continue wearing a goggle that is too small likewise poses problems. First, it's uncomfortable, and second, it will obstruct peripheral vision. Proper fitting means that the padding inside the goggle's sides rests flush with the face and that the eyes are centered vertically in the lens area.

Diving masks, which are designed for scuba dives or snorkeling, tend to be large and squarish. They come up high and go across the forehead and dip down low, almost to the bottom of the nose. Rubber often surrounds the outside areas of the mask to fit tightly against the face and provide a water-tight seal.

Dive masks that are made with lenses designed specifically to your measurements and prescription are generally more expensive than their pre-made counterparts. Older masks that allowed these custom lenses to slide into the front sometimes had problems with water leaking in around the lenses, but newer models are pretty water-tight.

Alternatively, some masks have a fixed lens area in the front, but allow an insert containing the custom-made Rx lenses to slide in behind the front lenses. This method eliminates the possibility of water leaking in around the lenses; however, depending on the depth, temperature and type of water that you will be diving in, fogging may be a bit more problematic with inserts.

Swimming Goggles

Swimming goggles are similar to diving masks, but they are smaller and rounder in shape. They also protrude further away from the face than dive masks do. Goggles are designed to protect your eyes from the water, yet to be sleek and unobtrusive at the same time, so as not to interfere with your speed and motion. The rubber that surrounds the goggles is meant to keep water away from the eyes.

The lenses in diving masks and swim goggles are made of glass, acrylic, regular ophthalmic plastic, or polycarbonate.

Shooters of all kinds require eye protection, whether at the range or in the forest. All kinds of shooting activities take place in close proximity to the face. Shotguns and rifles are held on the shoulder, while handguns are no more than an arm's length away. All firearms have a certain amount of recoil, and many shooting activities take place outdoors, where wind, sun and dust are perennial challenges.

Good eye protection makes sense and often is required during organized matches or while shooting on a range. Some rangemasters allow shooters to wear any kind of eyewear they like, but other times certain safety standards come into play.

Good eye protection while hunting makes sense; the man on the right needs to take better care of his eyes.

Generic contoured nonprescription sports goggles are acceptable shooting eyewear styles for those who do not require visual correction, or for contact-lens wearers. These goggles have a slight wrap around the face and keep wind and dust out.

Polycarbonate lenses with a scratch-resistant hard coat and built-in ultraviolet protection are the lenses of choice for shooting glasses. This lens material is highly impact resistant to provide you with maximum "blow-back" and "bounce-back" protection. Many nonprescription shooting glasses come with several pairs of interchangeable lenses for use under different lighting and atmospheric conditions. Prescription lenses can be made to order in whatever color the wearer deems most appropriate.

Many shooters are comfortable in lenses that are yellow or orange. Lenses in these hues block haze and blue light and enhance the orange color of the target. The brighter yellow the lens color is, the better it is for use at night.

Ski goggles provide protection for the face as well as for the eyes; thus, many are large, covering most of the upper portion of the face. Sometimes, however, ski goggles are smaller and less obtrusive. Regardless of their size, the goggles are designed to fit snugly around the eye area, preventing wind, snow and ice from penetrating and interfering with vision.

The lens area is intentionally large so you have a wide field of view and good peripheral vision.

Many ski goggle frames are made of softer, more flexible materials than traditional eyeglass or sunglass frames. Nylon, rubber and propionate are popular because they hold their shape, do not become brittle in the cold, and tend not to injure the face if you should fall or impact an object while traveling at high speed. Many goggle styles are held in place on the head with a large, thick strap designed to make sure that the eye protection stays in place no matter how rigorous your activities become.

The lenses used in ski goggles are frequently a yellow-orange hue. This color enhances contrast, enabling you to make out shapes, objects, and bumps in the snow more clearly because it blocks out the blue, or hazy, end of the color spectrum. (Lenses of this color are sometimes referred to as "blue-blockers" for this reason.) Rose is another good contrast-enhancing color.

Polarized lenses are another popular choice in ski goggles. A polarized lens filters out glare and reflected light, eliminating most of the "bounce-back" of sunshine off snow and ice that is bothersome to skiers on the slopes. Polarized lenses are available in traditional sun shades such as gray and brown, as well as in the yellow or rose tones that combine better contrast with glare reduction to afford you optimum visual acuity.