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Abstract
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Use of helmets among skiers started to increase some 20 y ago, becoming mandatory for children under 16 y old in Austria in 2009. Today, 86% of skiers wear helmets. Helmet use has reduced the risk of head injuries by 35%. Widespread use of helmets implies thorough study of the possible adverse effects of wearing helmets that could offset their protective effects. Helmet use does not increase the risk of neck or cervical spine injury or the risk of compensation behavior. However, the 2 groups of head injuries, traumatic brain injury and other types of head injuries, are not equally prevented by ski helmets, and the number of traumatic brain injuries is not reduced to the same extent as the number of other types of head injuries.
Over time, the protective effects of helmets have been somewhat reduced. A direct influence of ski helmets on hearing was investigated and established. In addition to helmets, usual head gear for skiers includes ski goggles. Their role is to prevent ultraviolet (UV) radiation (wavelengths smaller than 400 nm) from reaching the eye and the surrounding soft tissue; to reduce the total amount of light reaching the eye; to reduce the production of tears; to enhance contrast; and to provide mechanical protection of the eyes and the surrounding soft tissue. Optimal performance depends on ventilation of humid air. Proper ventilation prevents fogging and should not induce the overproduction of tears. Helmets tend to reduce goggle ventilation; therefore, goggles fog much more easily, and when skiers are moving at reduced speed or when they stop moving, fogging becomes almost inevitable. This is probably one of the principal reasons why many helmeted skiers remove their goggles when they stop moving; when using chair lifts, drag lifts, and gondolas; and sometimes during descent.
There are, however, skiers who use an extra pair of sunglasses in situations when goggles are removed, and a certain number who use sunglasses exclusively. All the aforementioned personal observations were confirmed by the inspection of photos from 12 large ski resorts in Austria, Italy, France, and Bulgaria. The largest proportion of skiers, more than 50%, remove their goggles at the base stations of lifts and approximately 30% when using chairlifts, whereas skiers in descent rarely remove them. At the top stations of ski lifts, the percentage of skiers with removed goggles is nearly the same as among chairlift users. Approximately 10% of skiers were wearing sunglasses and helmets (skiers with removed goggles included). There were no skiers with removed sunglasses. Goggles and sunglasses do not protect the eyes and the surrounding tissue to the same extent because goggles cover a larger area and have a tighter fit...
Language: en |