We all know that the sun can be super harmful to our skin, UVA and UVB rays can cause damage to your skin and lead to skin cancer, but did you also know that the sun can also do some major damage to your eyes? Unfiltered sunlight to the eyes can create long lasting effects on your eyes and cause irreversible damage….makes you think twice about shelling out some extra cash on sunglasses; they aren’t just cute accessories, they are preventative medicine!
What damage can sun do to your eyes?
–Cataracts: Cataracts are when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, making for vision blurry and very distorted. It can make reading, watching TV, etc very hard and really limit your abilities to do anything that requires keen eyesight. They can eventually lead to blindness and cataracts are currently the leading cause of blindness. Continued exposure to UV rays from the sun can cause the lens of the eye to thicken over time, and increase your risk of getting cataracts; the lens will thicken, then become cloudy and cause the blurry vision.
–Macular Degeneration: Macular degeneration is an abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye, and opaque deposits on the retina (the light sensitive portion of the back of the eye), and an increase of pigment in the retina, leading to decreased vision. It is common with aging, but many studies have shown that over exposure in your teens, 20’s, 30’s to unfiltered sunlight can significantly increase your risk, and there is truly no cure/treatment for macular degeneration.
–Photokeratitis (AKA Snowblindness): an actual form of blindness, that can be temporary and cause extreme pain and total blindness due to the cornea getting burned. It is called snow blindness because it can happen easiest when there is sun reflecting off of snow, it can be super bright, and burn the cornea, and you cannot see for a short period of time. Obviously the longer the exposure, the longer the blindness. Your eyes start to burn a few hours after exposure and it can feel like sand is in your eyes; the only known treatment is keeping out of sunlight and the use of pain medications. Prevention is key!
What can I do for prevention?
A hat and sunglasses go a LONG way to help and decrease your risk of getting sun damage to your eyes. Multiple studies have shown that protection of the eyes in sunlight (with a hat or sunglasses), even with large amounts of exposure, your eyes are at a much lesser risk of getting any of these long term eye issues. Of course, as an HCP, I will always suggest limiting sun exposure to decrease your risk of skin cancer, but if you are wearing your SPF, and doing everything right, you should be able to spend time in the sun…..just make sure to protect your eyes. Don’t stare at a glaring white page of a book for hours without sunglasses, and same with being on the ocean, the suns reflection can cause some major problems, and wear goggles when you go skiing! Make sure to check that the sunglasses/goggles you buy say that they have UVA/UVB protection, and you should be all set!
So not only do sunglasses protect your eyes and prevent those wrinkles from squinting, they totally can make your outfit pop too! Now, if only we could get Prada covered by our health insurance, I would be one happy girl….
Yours in Good Health
B
