The sun's warm rays offer light and heat and provide many health benefits, like improved mood and vitamin D for strong bones. You couldn’t live without the sun’s rays, but basking too long in their glow can hurt you, leading to sunburn and different types of skin cancer.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation comes from numerous sources, including the sun, and that form of light causes the issues that overexposure brings. Those UV rays also increase your risk of eye problems if you’re not careful, and the damage can lead to long-term vision problems.
To prevent the damage this form of sunlight can bring, let’s go over its effect on your eyes, the conditions it can cause, and what you can do to stay safe during the warm months.
If you live in the Frederick, Maryland, area and want to enjoy the spring and summer without eye problems, contact our team at the Maryland Vision Center.
Obviously, you need light to see because light creates the image of what’s around you by entering your eyes, where your cornea, lens, retina, and optic nerve process that light. You can’t see without light, but too much sunlight damages your eye’s surface, cornea, and lens, which leads to problems like:
This eye disease doesn’t develop right away, so you could go many years without realizing the damage has been done. Direct sunlight overexposure damages the surface and the proteins in your lenses, leading to blurriness and cataracts.
It's a rare problem, but UV rays can increase the risk of cancers that affect the eyeball and its surrounding structure. Tumors can be harmless (benign) or dangerous (malignant), and UV light in tanning beds or from the sun can cause intraocular melanoma.
Also known as photokeratitis, sunburn harms the corneal surface and conjunctiva (the transparent tissue that covers the white of the eye and inside the eyelids). It can result from directly looking at the sun or reflective sunlight from sand, ice, water, and snow (also called snow blindness).
The term for growths on your eye comes from long days under the intense midday sun for surfers, skiers, and fishermen. They frequently occur near rivers or in mountainous or oceanic areas.
To avoid these visual consequences, follow these tips when out in the sunny weather:
Feel free to get out in the good weather and have a blast, but enjoy safely and protect your eyes. For tips and treatment to manage eye problems, contact us at one of our Frederick, Maryland, locations today.
