How Important Is Your Vision to You?
With Summer now in full swing, many of us will be spending more time outside — cookouts, beaches, parks. You probably already know how important it is to wear sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful UV rays. Have you seen that commercial for Banana Boat sunscreen where there is a bodybuilder with a muscular upper body and tiny little chicken legs? Then, the African guy says, "Too much of a good thing!", haha. They are trying to express that although it is "fun in the sun", too much fun for too long can be harmful to your skin.
What they don't tell you is UV rays can also be very harmful to your eyes. There are two types of UV rays: UV-A and UV-B. UV-A can hurt your central vision and damage the macula, a part of the retina at the back of your eye. The front part of your eye (the cornea and the lens) absorbs most UV-B rays, but these rays may cause even more damage to your eyes than UV-A rays. Worst of all, damage caused to your eyes by UV rays is cumulative, meaning it adds up over time, and it could be years before the negative effects become evident. Some of the problems associated with harmful sun exposure to your eyes are cataracts, macular degeneration, pterygium, and photokeratitis (ugh, those last two just sound scary!). So, all this UVABXYZ talk basically just means you need to start taking steps to protect your eyes as much as your skin.
"So, I squirt sunscreen in my eyes?" Uhhh, no. Fortunately, "eye sunscreens" have been around for many years and are commonly referred to as "sunglasses". That's right, shades aren't just for looking cool, they may actually improve the health of your eyes. When picking out your new frames, there are a couple of things to remember. First, make sure they clearly state that they were designed to block 99-100% of UV rays. Don't worry, the stylish guys over at Oakley do this with most of their lines, and for the more thrifty customers, many of the less expensive brands do this as well. Second, you want to make sure the lenses are large enough to cover your entire eye and the surrounding area. I don't mean giant-sized clown glasses, but don't get some thin, horizontal lenses that will allow the sun to creep in from all sides, defeating the purpose of the sunglasses in the first place.
For even further protection, you can wear a hat with a brim to shade your eyes and entire face from the harmful rays. Of course, this only works if you flip your hat back around to the front, "Joe Cool". The main thing is to at least be aware of the potential risks associated with long-term sun exposure. Sure, you may not think much of a mildly annoying sunburn, but imagine having severe eye problems and possibly even going blind several years down the road. Sunglasses and a hat can keep your eyes "cool", you looking "cool", and still allow you to check out that hot babe running down the beach in slow motion.
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Great article! My sister, who sunbathed all of her life, without sun glasses, suffered from macular degeneration. She could have easily avoided it.
Hunters, fishermen, outdoorsmen and sun bathers need to protect their eyes!