Just as the sun’s UV (ultraviolet) rays damage the skin, so they also damage the eyes when there is over-exposure to them. It does not matter if the day is cloudy. The UV rays are still there and if you are not wearing good-quality sunglasses or a shady hat, they will enter your eyes and gradually impair your vision.
People with dark-colored eyes are better protected than people with blue, gray, green, or light brown eyes. That extra melanin (pigment) absorbs some of the UV light, preventing it from reaching the lens and retina.
Lens Damage: Cataracts Research has indicated that the clouding of the lens known as cataracts can be caused by too much sunlight exposure. Cataracts cause most of the world’s blindness, and there is no cure for them. Once they begin to form, blocking the passage of light through the eye’s lens, they increase and grow, eventually blocking all light. They can be treated with cataract surgery that replaces the natural lens with an artificial lens.
Retina Damage: Macular Degeneration The retina is the eye’s “camera film” and forms the back inside surface of each eye. It has a small central area called the macula that gives us our clearest direct vision in bright light. Studies have shown that too much sunlight is related to deterioration of the macular cells and the consequent loss of direct vision. Macular degeneration is age-related and is a principal cause of blindness worldwide.
Other Eye Damage UV rays can be a contributing cause of other major eye conditions also, such as cancer, growths that partially block vision, Herpes activation when the virus is dormant, and sunburn on the cornea (front clear surface of each eye). This sunburn particularly occurs in snowy environments where about 80 percent of the UV rays are reflected by the snow, making them more intense. Repeated corneal sunburn can lead to blindness.
To learn more about how to protect your eyes from UV rays, please contact our eye doctors today. We have many locations for your convenience.
