MOST MOTORCYCLISTS CAN see,
although there is a Blind Motorcycle
Speed Record group (search You-Tube). Billy Baxter, Stuart Gunn and
Ben Felten are working on setting
the record. Still, the rest of us count
on vision when we ride.
Motorcycling poses various
threats to vision, including eye
injury. I’ve been impacted at freeway
speeds by pebbles, rocks, tumbleweeds, and once, a crow, at about
80 mph. Damage can sometimes be
repaired, but it’s recommended to
stick with your OEM body parts as
long as possible, by protecting them.
The current standard for impact
protection in eyewear is ANSI Z87.1-
2015, similar to Snell certification for
helmets. The standard was updated
most recently in 2015, and before that,
2010 and 2003. High-velocity-im-pact-protection-rated eyewear adds a
plus (+) sign on both the lens and frame.
If manufactured after 2010, look for
Z87+ marking for high impact; without
it, the lens provides a lower level of
impact protection. Safety glasses with a
plus are designed to withstand impact
by a quarter-inch steel ball at 150 fps,
or 102 mph. That sounds adequate. In
addition, face shields are often labeled
VESC- 8, tested by a 1.56-ounce steel
projectile with a conical point striking
the shield at 20 mph, which must not
penetrate. A video of the testing:
youtu.be/1dyKSyyDcxU.
PHYSICAL INJURY CAN cause the lens
in your eye to become less clear, but
other causes are much more common.
Cataracts (foggy eye lenses) cause about
half the cases of blindness world-
wide—about four-times that of second
place, glaucoma (high eye pressure). A
common cause of cataracts is ultravio-
let (UV) light exposure—a problem for
motorcyclists. Most of us have some-
thing between our eyes and the sun, but
only sunglasses labeled U2 or higher
block sunlight’s UV. Most faceshields
also block UV—it’s always best to verify.
MOST CATARACTS OCCUR with age,
when the clear lens gradually becomes
less transparent, often yellow or brownish. Fixing them is a relatively painless
and low risk surgery, which is why
cataracts cause a lower percentage of
blindness in developed countries. Statistics indicate that patients are happier
with the results of cataract surgery than
any other kind of surgery.
Before we had modern anesthesia
and surgical techniques, cataracts were
treated by puncturing the eyeball with
a pointed object and pushing the lens
out of place until it fell to the bottom
of the eye. This was called “couching”
and didn’t work especially well. Johann
Sebastian Bach had it done in both
eyes, then died (blind) within four
months. George Frideric Handel had
the same procedure, and lost his vision
the next year. Clearly, there was room
for improvement.
Modern cataract surgery started after
WWII, when Dr. Harold Ridley noted
that acrylic plastic (Plexiglas) frag-
ments in the eyes of WWII aviators
didn’t cause inflammatory reactions.
He invented the intraocular rigid
lens, which was a huge improve-
ment on the “Coke-bottle” glasses
required previously, after removing
the cloudy lens. A folding lens came
later, requiring only a tiny incision in
the eyeball, allowing patients to go
home the same day.
AS WITH MOST things, there are
several choices for lens implants.
Monofocal, or fixed focus lenses,
are most common. Since their focus
cannot be changed by the eye mus-
cles like that of a normal lens, most
people use glasses for either reading or
distance. However, some people have a
distance lens implanted into in one eye,
and a reading lens in the other. Before
doing so, patients often wear glasses
that give the same effect, to see how
well they tolerate different lenses. Some
newer lenses can see both near and far.
One is called accommodating and the
other is multifocal. There are advan-
tages and disadvantages to each, best
explained by your ophthalmologist.
This reminds me of a rider I saw in the
70s wearing sunglasses and a bath-
ing suit, leaning against the backpack
bungeed to the sissy bar, hands behind
his head, with both bare feet on the han-
dlebars. It was reassuring to see he was
sensible enough to wear eye protection.
You should be at least as sensible and
I hope this article encourages you to
protect your eyes from injury and ultra-
violet. Z87+ UV-rated glasses are readily
available for less than $10 online. I use a
tinted pair for daytime and a clear pair
for night riding. MCN
Dr. Flash Gordon is a primary care physician,
author of Blood, Sweat & Gears, and former
director of Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic.
I, Aye, Eye
> By Flash Gordon M.D. MATTERS
HEALTH
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STOC
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Incision
Incision
Eye with
cataract
1. The diseased lens is
pulled out
2. Implant inserted 3. Lens implanted
into position
New lens Lens
Implant
Lens Implant
Cornea
Iris