The growing popularity of paintball opens up a realm of injuries beyond those that affect participants in more mainstream sports, Mian says. Paint pellets, which are about the size of a dime and are fired at high rates of speed, can cause abrasions or bleeding inside the eye, as well as cataract formation. The impact also can cause retinal detachments and lacerations of the entire eye, leading to some vision loss, Mian says. “The injuries related to paintball can be severe enough to lead to blindness in thirty percent of individuals who suffer these injuries,” Mian says. “Most eye injuries related to paintball happen when participants are not using protective eyewear or when they take off their eye protection due to fogging or splatter of paint on the surface.” In the past five to ten years, he says, the Kellogg Eye Center has started seeing a rapid increase in paintball-related injuries as more and more people, especially teenagers, have been participating in the sport.

He points to standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials for protective eyewear. Use of approved eye protection devices can significantly reduce or eliminate injuries associated with paintball, Mian says.

People should seek medical attention for their eye injuries when the injury involves loss of vision that is not resolving or significant pain, the person should seek immediate advice from an eye care professional or primary care provider.

Other times to contact your doctor: When there are floaters or flashes, pain around the eye, or a bruise around the eye, which may indicate a bleed inside the eye, damage to the lens or retinal detachment.

Facts about sports-related eye injuries:

  More than 40,000 people a year suffer eye injuries while playing sports, according to Prevent Blindness America. Corneal abrasions – scratches on the outer layer of the cornea – often occur in sports when a player gets poked in the eye or hit in the eye with a ball. Symptoms may include tearing, redness, sensitivity to light and blurry vision. Parents should call a doctor immediately if their child suffers any injury to the eye itself, if the skin is split open and may need stitches, or if vision is blurred in either eye. Experts recommend wearing safety goggles for basketball and racquet sports, helmets with face shields for youth hockey and baseball, and approved protective eyewear for paintball.