If you exclude war, probably the most dangerous sport currently being played is paintball. The gelatin coated pellets shot from air guns during war games travel at 300 feet per second and can easily rupture the eye when fired from distances of 12 feet or less. I think the most important take home message is the greater than 90 percent of sports related eye injuries can be prevented with appropriate eye protection. In any given year, approximately 1 in 10 basketball players will sustain an eye injury. Most injuries are corneal abrasions caused by opponent s fingers or elbows striking a player's eye usually during aggressive play under the boards.
More severe injuries can occur including retinal detachments and even tearing the optic nerve.
Again, almost all of these injuries can be prevented by protective eyewear. It has become more fashionable to use protective eyewear in basketball since several high profile NBA players have adopted this habit. If the eye makeup runs with perspiration, there is a good chance that it will eventually get into the eye. Some types of makeup will be quite irritating to the eye and this could decrease your performance of playing the sport. There is really no absolute contraindication to wearing makeup while playing a sport, however.