Protecting Baby Blues from UV Damage

With spring and summer rapidly approaching, people are expected to spend time outdoors. Everyone knows it’s important to slather SPF sunscreen on; however, most people don’t understand the importance of protecting their eyes from the damaging effects of UV rays. In fact, UV rays can impart just as much damage on eyes as skin.

Olympic Eyewear, a wholesale sunglasses retailer, sells a wide variety of UV protecting sunglasses, helping people protect their delicate baby blue, green, hazel and brown eyes.

Sun exposure can be dangerous and short-term effects on the eyes can result in photokeratitis, which simply feels like small abrasive particles that irritate the eyes. This occurs when the eyes are directly exposed to sunlight, resulting in a type of cornea sunburn. Looking directly at the sun should always be avoided, as this can cause long-term retinal damage.

Excessive exposure to UV rays can also result in pingueculae, cataracts, pterygia and macular degeneration. This is often reported in people who live in the South, as they receive higher levels of UV light exposure.

Myths about certain skin-types being at a higher risk of UV ray damage are simply untrue; however, people who have lighter eye color pigments – such as greens, blues and grays – are at a higher risk for developing UV damage. Often lighter skin tones are associated with lighter eyes, but this is not always true.

Sunglasses that block between 98- to 99-percent of UVA and UVB rays are highly recommended, as these damaging rays can cause the most eye damage. Polarized lenses often offer additional protection because they have UV protection. They also help neutralize horizontal lines, which are often associated with early morning and dusk hour vision difficulties. Polarized lenses will help neutralize unwanted glare.

Medical professionals recommend that people should get their eyes checked regularly, but at the minimum, have their first eye exam by the age of 40. Many school experts recommend that young children should obtain an eye exam in elementary school, which helps ensure proper learning and normal eyesight in classroom settings.

If someone begins to experience eye-related issues, he/she should never hesitate to visit the ophthalmologist – an eye physician – as catching eye-related issues early in life can help prevent long term damage, cancer and even eyesight loss.

Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse sun’s damaging effects and the best recommendation is to practice preventative care when children are young, helping instill good learning habits at an early age.

Olympic Eyewear offers a wide assortment of popular, name brand sunglasses including Chopper sunglasses, DG sunglasses, Locs sunglasses, VG sunglasses, Wayfarer sunglasses and X-Loop sunglasses, to name a few.