Summer is Here, Protect Your Eyes from Damage
Vision Council reports that this summer 67% of people are actually taking an important step to preventing UV damage. The secret – wearing sunglasses.
But why is it important? Read on! #UVAwarenessMonth
UV rays are harmful to your eyes and can cause a variety of problems, including cataracts. The type of damage done by UV rays depends on the intensity of exposure and the amount of time it takes for them to reach your eyes. Cloudy days can be just as dangerous as sunny ones because UV rays bounce off water droplets in the air. You should always wear sunglasses when outside, even if it’s cloudy or raining; they’ll protect your eyes from the harmful ultraviolet light that could lead to long-term vision loss.
UV rays are damaging our eyes.
UV rays can also lead to cataracts, which is a clouding of the lens in your eye. UV rays are thought to be one of the leading causes of macular degeneration, which is vision loss that occurs when nerve cells in the retina break down. This leads to blurred vision or even blindness.
Pinguecula, an accumulation of yellowish tissue on the conjunctiva (the membrane covering your whites), is another condition that can be caused by UV light exposure from sunlight or tanning beds. Pterygium is a growth that starts at the base of your eyelid and grows outward toward your pupil; similarly, pinguecula forms by growing inward toward your cornea.*
If you want to protect yourself from UV damage and prevent these problems from happening later in life, we recommend wearing sunglasses with full UV protection whenever you’re outdoors for extended periods of time each day.
The damage that UV can do to your eyes is permanent.
UV rays are damaging your eyes. The damage is permanent, and it can cause cataracts and macular degeneration, which leads to blindness.
As we discussed earlier, UV radiation does more than just cause sunburns. It can also damage your eyes in a number of ways that could lead to skin cancer and even loss of vision in some cases. Additionally, UV exposure can affect the appearance of your skin as well as accelerate aging by damaging collagen fibers in the dermis (the layer beneath the epidermis).
The importance of wearing sunglasses on cloudy days.
Even on cloudy days, UV rays can still reach your eyes. These are the same rays that cause damage to your skin when you’re outside without sun protection. Clouds do not act as a barrier to these damaging rays, so they can pass through them and reach your eyes just like they would if it were sunny out.
If you happen to be driving with your windows rolled up, UV radiation will come right through that glass too! It doesn’t matter whether it’s raining, snowing or hailing outside—the same harmful effect is present in any weather conditions. In fact, if you are driving at night (or even during the day) with no lights on inside of your car or truck cab, then there is no protection whatsoever from UV exposure thanks to those tinted windows!
The same goes for glass doors leading into houses: these allow photons from the sun or other sources of light pollution like street lamps into homes where many people spend their time indoors throughout much of their day – even during overcast conditions when there isn’t enough visible light shining through windowsills or skylights because everything looks dark.”
Our Favorite Sunnies To Prevent Damage – Jimmy Crystal
Check out this clip from Bloom about how to protect your eyes from UV damage and see Jimmy Crystal featured in the lineup of sunnies to choose from!
You must protect the kids’ eyes too!
Your children are at a higher risk of UV damage than you are because they are more likely to wear sunglasses, go outside and be exposed to the sun. Children will spend more time out in the sun than adults so it is important that they wear sunscreen with a high SPF rating. Children also spend many hours playing in the water or sand during summer vacations which can lead to eye irritation and infection if proper precautions aren’t taken.
There are different tints and coatings you can buy for your sunglasses.
There are different tints and coatings you can buy for your sunglasses. For example, tinted lenses have a darker lens color that protects your eyes from UVA rays. Coated lenses are coated with special materials to reduce glare. Polarized lenses make it easier for you to see objects because they filter out polarized light from the sun that causes glare on water or pavement. Mirrored lenses reflect light away from your eyes, so they’re great at keeping things looking bright but don’t do much in terms of protecting vision from UV rays. Mirrored sunglasses are more expensive than regular sunglasses because they tend to be made with better quality materials and more durable frames (because they’re heavier).
What about contact lenses?
Are contact lenses a good alternative to sunglasses? No. While they do provide protection from visible light, they do not protect your eyes from UV rays. Because of this, we recommend that children and adults who wear contact lenses only use them indoors or in the shade.
Outside of these circumstances, contact lenses are not recommended for outdoor activities such as sports and swimming. UV rays can cause damage to the eye area over time and if you’re wearing contacts when exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time, this damage could be exacerbated.
Don’t let UV damage take away your eyesight!
Since we’ve established that UV rays are dangerous, it’s important to know what kind of damage they can do to your eyes. The retina is the part of your eye that allows you to see and process images. It’s a layer of light-sensitive cells at the inner back wall of your eye and helps you see in both dim light and bright light. Ultraviolet (UV) rays damage your retina by destroying the cells’ ability to create new photoreceptors. This ultimately leads to vision loss in one or both eyes as well as other conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration, pterygiums, pingueculas and more!
Conclusion
If you keep your eyes protected from UV rays and wear sunglasses whenever possible, you can help to prevent any damage that may occur. To check out some of our favorite sunglasses visit www.aaopticalco.com
