Wear Your Sunglasses and Hats this Summer; Your Eyes Can Get Sunburnt Too
Many years of unprotected exposure to the sun without eye protection can contribute to cataracts and macular degeneration and even lead to tumors that may require surgical removal. A lesser known danger of sun exposure, however, is the more immediate risk of sunburnt eyes or photokeratitis. If you have light colored eyes, you may be at increased risk for sunburned eyes because they have less pigmentation in multiple layers of the eye than darker eyes. A mild case of photo keratitis can feel as if there is sand stuck in the eyes, which is caused by layers of the cornea peeling following the sunburn. People who have suffered from extreme cases describe the condition as feeling as if their eyeballs are on fire. If you experience these symptoms, see an ophthalmologist right away. The American Academy of Ophthalmology and Texas Ophthalmological Association offer these tips to protect your eyes from both short-term and long-term damage from the sun:
For more information on keeping eyes healthy or to find an ophthalmologist, visit https://www.aao.org/eye-health. For more information on keeping eyes healthy or to find an ophthalmologist in your area, visit https://www.aao.org/eye-health. About the American Academy of Ophthalmology The American Academy of Ophthalmology, headquartered in San Francisco, is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons — Eye M.D.s— with nearly 32,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" – ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who has the education and training to treat it all: eye diseases, infections and injuries, and perform eye surgery. For more information, visit www.aao.org. The Academy's EyeSmart®program educates the public about the importance of eye health and empowers them to preserve healthy vision. EyeSmart provides the most trusted and medically accurate information about eye diseases, conditions and injuries. OjosSanos™ is the Spanish-language version of the program. Visit www.geteyesmart.org or www.ojossanos.org to learn more.
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