There is so much hype about sunscreen and sunblock. Every magazine you open has something mentioning the dangers of sun damage – and for good reason!
Even with all the sun protection factor talk, a lot of sources skip over a HUGE part of your body that also needs protecting… your eyes! I would have to say the majority of my friends wear sunglasses to the beach, but a lot of them don’t wear sunglasses most of the time they should.
If you wear contact lenses this is even more of an issue. Contacts make your eyes more sensitive to sun damage, but even non-contact lens wearers face this risk. When you get a sunburn, most of the time the damage is temporary and fades relatively quickly. Not to say that further damage (like cancer!) can’t happen, but sun damage to your eyes is almost always non-reversible… after all Galileo is rumored to have gone blind while looking at the sun! This is so scary to me since I already have less-than-ideal eye sight.
How to protect yourself:
- To easily protect your eyes from sun damage, slip on a pair of shades with 100% UVA and UVB protection. This will shield your eyes from both types of harmful rays.
- Make sure to wear your shades while driving, walking, and any other time you are exposed to the sun. I like to keep a few options handy so I can change up shape and darkness depending on the situation.
- Sunglasses can be pricey, but most inexpensive pairs also have 100% UV protection now!
- Don’t forget that regular prescription glasses also protect, so opt to wear them on cloudy days.
By
acousticzen
Very informative article!! Like many people my age, I wasn’t aware of the seriousness of eye damage from UVA/UVB rays till now
AJ
Thank you! Glad I helped