Our eyes enable our most valuable sense to guide us through our day-to-day; sight. So, it is of the utmost importance that we take care of our eyes, to keep our vision in top condition. If you fail to do so, you may find that you run into issues later on in life that can be avoided. That’s why getting a pair of good quality, protective, comfortable round glasses can make all the difference. Here we are going to look at some of the optical problems you can run into if you don’t sufficiently look after your eyes.

Cataracts

Whilst a number of aspects can contribute to the development of cataracts, sun exposure is one of the main causes. Cataracts can build up over time, clouding the vision, and causing blindness in extreme cases. Cataracts are much more likely to crop up over the age of 40 as the proteins in the eyes begin to break down. Thankfully, severe cataracts are fixable through surgery, but prevention is much more preferable over cure. Cataracts do not go away on their own – surgery is the only viable option, as they only worsen over time.

Photokeratitis

Essentially, photokeratitis is sunburn of the eyes. Typically symptoms only last between a few hours and a couple of days, though they are uncomfortable. Symptoms include eye pain, light sensitivity, decreased vision quality, watering of the eyes etc. They usually start shortly after UV exposure. If you have a lighter eye colour, you may be more at risk of developing this condition.

Skin Cancer

Around your eyes, you’ll find your thinnest areas of skin, including the eyelids. This part of your skin is more perceptible to damage from the sun. Due to this, it is extra important to look after this area, particularly because people often avoid putting suncream too close to their eye area. Depending on the type of cancer around the eye, your vision can also be negatively impacted, as well as the surrounding skin. It is incredibly important to avoid this where possible.

How to Protect Your Eyes

These are just a few of the problems you can run into if you don’t look after your eyes properly. You need to consider eye protection year-round, not just on very sunny days. UV rays are still strong even when the temperature is colder and the sky duller.

Here are some tips to keep your eyes protected from UV rays, decreasing the likelihood of health problems arising in the future:

• A hat that shades your eyes
• High-quality sunglasses with certified UV protection
• Sit in shaded areas where possible
• Use a high-protection sunscreen that is specially designed to be used around the eye area
• Water, snow and sand awareness: the sun can powerfully reflect off of these, putting you at greater risk of sun damage. Be extra careful.

With these simple actions, you can do your best to prevent any eye problems from occurring, in the short and long term. Be sensible in the sun.