For any person who loves playing competitive sports, and who also has imperfect vision, the impracticalities of wearing glasses or even contact lenses whilst competing means that they often consider laser eye surgery. Apart from the inconvenience and cost of replacing broken glasses and lost contact lenses, there are also risks in playing sports whilst wearing either of those vision correction aids.
With glasses, there is a risk of them being smashed due to a blow to the face, and the glass cutting the person’s face, or worse, causing a severe injury to their eye. There is also the chance that an opponent is cut due to a piece of the broken glass coming into contact with their skin.
Contact lenses might not pose the same injury risk, but whilst playing competitive sports they could be dislodged or damaged due to an impact. In addition, there is always the perennial risk of bacteria attaching themselves to the lens due to playing in muddy or dusty sports fields, increasing the risk of an eye infection.
So, is laser eye surgery the answer to all of these problems? Yes, provided that the athlete in question is suitable for laser eye surgery. That will depend on criteria such as the condition of their eyes, their overall health, and if the laser eye surgeon deems laser eye surgery the appropriate treatment to fix their vision.
Having met the criteria, there might still be some doubt in an athlete’s mind, and if that athlete is you, you might still need some persuading that laser eye surgery is what you need to correct your vision so you can play sports without the need for glasses or contact lenses. If so, here are several reasons why you should go ahead with laser eye surgery.
Your Vision Is Improved In Imperfect Light: There will be times when you are training or playing and the available light is insufficient, or on the flip side, the sun is bright, and glare is an issue. Laser eye surgery allows your eyes to adapt to contrasting bright and low light conditions far better than glasses or contacts ever can.
You Can Play Sports In All Weather Conditions: Rain, wind, mud, dirt, dust, sweat and tears can all be part of a sportsperson lot, and none of them makes playing sports any easier. Athletes with laser eye surgery are simply not affected by any of those which cannot be said for sports participants who wear contacts or glasses.
Your Reaction Times Should Improve: When wearing glasses or contact lenses your depth perceptions are negatively impacted, but that is not so if you have had laser eye surgery. As such, you can react quicker to actions on the sports field, and be certain of the movement of footballs, tennis balls, cricket balls, etc.
You Will See Everything At Its Proper Size: This is especially important for those who need eye correction for short-sightedness. Objects can seem to be smaller than their actual size when wearing glass or contacts, which is hardly ideal for playing sports. Laser eye surgery will allow you to see everything at its proper size.
Recovery Is Quick: One fear that some athletes have is laser eye surgery will mean they are out of action for months. Quite the contrary, as recovery is quick and usually you can get back to playing your favourite sports in less than seven days, provided you follow all the after-care advice from your laser eye surgeon.
