Refractive errors are a major drawback for people who regularly play sports, especially resistance sports like boxing.
However, framed glasses interfere with movement, reduce concentration and easily cause injury. Therefore, sports contact lenses are the first choice. If you are wondering about boxing with contacts, check this out!
Contents
Why Should You Do Boxing With Contact Lenses?
Better Vision
People wear contact lenses to correct the eye’s refractive error (near-sightedness, far-sightedness, or astigmatism). Depending on the boxer’s individual needs, there are various types of lenses with different uses, shapes, and colors. The choice of contact lenses, in addition to an aesthetic aspect, also helps the wearer have a better view.
The contact lens is shaped like a bowl of water. It has a sponge surface with many tiny holes. These holes, also known as the glasses’ hydration, are filled with water so that contact lenses can retain their shape.
Unlike other organs of the body, the eyes exchange oxygen directly with the outside environments to function well for many hours. Contact glasses have a multi-hole surface, which allows oxygen to seep into the irises, creating a sense of comfort during long hours of wearing. You will have a clearer view of the surrounding space, and there is no blurred feeling due to objective factors.
When doing boxing, observing the surrounding environment is paramount since boxers need to see and judge the opponent’s attack. From there, you can perform blocks, nudges, or counter-attacks. Contact lenses enable you to observe precisely the direction of the opponent’s body movement to avoid a miss, or worse, get hit.
UV Protection
UV is a type of light with a short wavelength so that it can penetrate ordinary protective layers. Even when you’re training or competing, keep in mind that harmful ultraviolet rays can still damage your eyes.
Because it penetrates the ozone layer, the UVA radiation is the most, accounting for 97%. UVA penetrates the cornea, into the lens, retina, exposed too long will lead to macular degeneration or cataracts. If this continues, you could lose your eyesight permanently. Therefore, it is extremely important to have a good UV shield.
For boxers, the protection of your eyes is vitally necessary because you need a good view to play and practice. In the ring, you can not wear framed glasses so contact lenses are definitely a perfect option.
Contrary to conventional sunglasses which have older technology’s outer coatings, UV-resistant contact lenses are equipped with new technologies that block up to 95% UVB and 97% UVA rays. It will be a great assistant to protect trainers’ eyes.
Easier to Move
Contact lenses help correct refractive errors, protect the eyes, and provide comfort for the users. They have many considerable advantages over frames, especially the convenience.
Conventional-framed glasses tend to get in the way of activities, and boxing is no exception. When wearing glasses, the ratio of objects in real life and when passing through the glasses will be incorrect due to physical characteristics. This can be a hindrance to boxers when you are prone to misjudging.
During exercise, the frames of the glasses can hit the eyes and cheeks, causing bruises. Worse, if you accidentally apply strong force to the glass, it could break. Fragments of eyeglasses are extremely dangerous because they can easily stab your eyes, causing temporary or permanent vision loss.
Contact lenses can completely overcome those disadvantages since their construction is very soft and mostly water. When sticking to the cornea, there will be a thin layer of water separating the corneal surface from contact lenses, helping to protect the eyes better.
Good Compatibility With Safety Devices
Boxing accessories or protective gear during practice and competition are mandatory, helping the fighters avoid injuries.
Of course, when it comes to boxing, people will immediately think of boxing gloves, a symbol of this sport. The main purpose of boxing gloves is to protect the fighter from injury to his hand, increasing the punching force because most of the injuries in fighting martial arts are derived from punching.
At this point, we guess you have instantly recognized the inconvenience of wearing framed glasses. It is inevitable that when normal glasses slip off, you have to push them back to their original position. This is not easy when wearing boxing gloves as they do not have fingers.
Besides, a helmet is also an indispensable device. Since they are often so tight to the head to help reduce injuries, wearing framed glasses is definitely impossible.
What Are the Risks of Boxing With Contact Lenses?
Losing The Contact Lens
The size of contact lenses is both merits and demerits. If you drop contacts, it is difficult to pick them up right away as they are small and transparent. In particular, for those with near-sightedness, this seems like an impossible task. For boxers who often have to use protective gear and much different protective equipment, dropping is more likely to happen.
We recommend that you use a separate box with a hook to attach to the backpack or the key to keep the lens box inside. When you put your glasses on or take them off, please sit on a chair or a flat surface and keep the glass case on a table. In this way, you will keep them from falling out when not in use.
Causing Eye Problems
The most dangerous problem with contact lenses is a bacterial infection.
Since eyes are extremely sensitive parts, you have to keep your contact lenses clean. As soon as we take the glasses out of the box and use our hands to wear them, they have been attacked by bacteria from the surrounding environment.
For a boxer, this is more likely to happen because of excessive sweating during exercise. These sweat droplets can carry bacteria from the environment into the eyes and even cause serious eye problems such as keratitis, conjunctivitis, impaired vision, or even blindness. Those can create severe injuries for boxers due to imperfect sight.
Therefore, the best way to clean contact lenses is to use the device with a dedicated cleaning solution. When wearing glasses, you should also use tools, not bare hands. Remember not to use tap water or filtered water to clean your contact lenses because they still contain microorganisms that can irritate your eyes.
Please keep in mind that you should only use dedicated water to clean contact lenses. It will help if you pour the glass cleaner right after using it to ensure hygiene.
>>Read more about Boxing with braces.
Conclusion
Boxing with contacts is a perfect choice for boxers as they provide a stable vision and enhanced ability to focus during the battle. Moreover, contact lenses will limit injury when getting a powerful punch as it is inside the eyes. Hence, boxers do not need to worry that the glasses will interfere and affect their training. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share this with your family and friends.
With a passion for combat sports and a wealth of experience, Mike Colon stands as a seasoned figure in the world of martial arts, hailing from the vibrant city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Mike has honed the skills of numerous fighters, guiding them through the intricacies of the sweet science of Boxing and the multifaceted challenges of MMA.
