Save Your Sight This Summer!

As the earth tilts towards the sun once again, we’ll see some rising temperatures and an increase in exposure to ultraviolet rays.  This is prime time to be vigilant with use of sunscreen to protect your skin as well as sunwear to protect your eyes.

Damaging effects of the sun’s ultraviolet rays include formation of cataracts, increased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and visible signs of aging of the skin. 

Cataracts occur in most people after age 50 due to opacification of the lens inside the eye, however, they tend to be more pronounced and progress more quickly with increasing exposure to ultraviolet light.  Light is discolored as it passes through the yellowed lens before reaching the retina.

AMD is a potentially sight-threatening disease and does not typically occur until well over age 50, but you may be able to reduce your risk by simply wearing sunglasses and reducing ultraviolet light exposure.  By using protective sunwear now, you may reduce the breakdown of retinal pigment that causes loss of central vision.

When you see a person with tan, leathery skin, you can easily recognize the obvious sun damage that has occurred, but more subtle signs of sun damage include wrinkling, pigmentary unevenness, and dehydration of the skin. 

Additionally, the inner corners of the eyes are the most common places for basal cell carcinomas to occur.  This is a type of skin cancer that is caused by sunlight shining onto these delicate areas and causing changes in the skin cells.  Any time you have a scaly patch of skin or a lesion that seems to be slow to heal, you should have it evaluated to make sure it is not this type of cancerous lesion.  This is another thing that can easily be prevented with the use of sunscreen as well as protective sunwear.

These are just some of the ways that ultraviolet light affects your eyes.  There is no age limit for this damage to occur so as you think about protecting your eyes, don’t forget to protect the eyes of your children no matter whether they’re 6 months or 16 years old.

At Family Eyewear Gallery, we carry a large assortment of fun and protective sunwear styles for adults and children, including infants.  Stop in and take a look.