Ultraviolet radiation damage can have long-term consequences for your eyes

July 23, 2012 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, health

If you have been invited to be part of a nuclear radiation cleaning crew, I'll bet that you do not want to wear protective clothing. Not only the costume of white rabbit of hazardous materials, but gloves, goggles, mask and slippers, right?  But when it comes to exposure to ultraviolet radiation, we often put on "half a costume" as on. We cover our skin with sunscreen (maybe), but we regularly protect our eyes. I don't know why forget us this step, but it is time for serious protection of the eyes.

In a recent interview with Dr. Jeanine Downey, dermatologist and optometrist, Dr. Stephen Cohen, we discussed the long-term damage that UV rays can cause skin and eyes. I hope that you can listen to the full conversation here:

Sun damage of the skin have a familiar appearance - brown spots, wrinkles, thinning and enlarged pores.  UV radiation causes visible damage to the eyes - yellowish horny (the "white" of the eye), scars (called pterygia) and crow feet. Over time, the skin of the eyelid may become cancer from exposure to the Sun, while the eyeballs develop cataracts and macular degeneration (which can lead to blindness). The risk of these diseases and conditions can be greatly reduced with Sun protection measures. And it is not that difficult to do...

Tips for protecting your eyes:

1 Wear a hat to wide to protect your face and your eyes from the Sun.

2 Wear enveloping sunglasses that absorb at least 99 a100% of UVA and UVB rays for maximum eye protection.

3. If you wear contact lenses, ask your doctor to look at if your lenses are UV protection. Contact lenses ACUVUE ® OASYS ® brand offers the highest level of available UV blocking, blocking at least 90% of the UV - A radiation and 99% of the UV - B radiation. While blocking UV contact lenses offer significant additional protection for the carriers, they did not completely cover the eyes and surrounding area and should not be considered as a substitute for the UV blocking sunglasses. For maximum protection, blocking UV contact lenses must be worn in conjunction with quality, wrap, UV blocking sunglasses and a hat to wide.

4 Remember that UV rays are more intense when reflected off the water surface and snowy owl. Just because it is winter time does not mean that you do not need to wear your sunglasses.

So the next time you reach for your sunscreen, don't forget to take your hat and sunglasses with you too! Fortunately, costume rabbit and booties are still optional for protection against UV radiation.

Disclosure: Dr. Val Jones is a consultant paid for VISTAKON ® Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc..

Labels: ACUVUE, Cancer, cataracts, contact lens, eye, macular degeneration, sunglasses, Sun Protection UV, UV radiation, broad-brimmed