You know to apply sunscreen to protect your skin, but what protects your eyes?
Your eyes are just as vulnerable to sun damage and environmental exposure, and protecting them requires the right tools and habits. In this article, you’ll find practical, evidence-based guidance to help you:
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Make informed choices about sunglasses, goggles, hats, and other eye protection
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Minimize exposure to harmful environmental contaminants
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Ensure your children receive the same level of eye protection
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Support lifelong eye health through smart preventive care
At Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center, we’re here to help you safeguard your vision—not just for this summer, but for many more to come.
1. Wear Sunglasses with Complete Ultraviolet Protection
Let’s start with the obvious—sunglasses! Just like you wouldn’t skip sunscreen for your skin, your eyes also need protection from ultraviolet radiation (UVR). UVR comes directly from the sun and reflects off surfaces like water, sand, and even pavement.
The good news? Protecting your eyes is easy and affordable. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the best way to shield your eyes is by wearing sunglasses that block 100% of both UVA and UVB rays. And you don’t have to break the bank—many inexpensive brands offer this full protection. Just be sure to wear them consistently, even when it’s cloudy.
Why It Matters
Too much UV exposure can cause short-term conditions like photokeratitis or photo conjunctivitis—also known as “snow blindness,” which feels a lot like a sunburn on your eyes. Over time, unprotected exposure can lead to more serious issues, like cataracts, pterygium (a non-cancerous growth on the eye), and even skin cancer on the eyelids.
Bottom line? A great pair of sunglasses is more than a fashion statement—it’s a smart, simple way to protect your long-term vision.
2. Use Goggles at the Pool
If you have not gone swimming in a few months, the first dip into the pool can feel awful on your eyes. The chlorine, designed to protect you from exposure to germs, has the potential to hurt your eyes.The simplest solution for protection is to wear goggles every time you go to swim in a pool. This also applies to swimming in the ocean or other natural bodies of water, as they contain other contaminants that may hurt your eyes.
The Medical Details: A 2008 study revealed that frequent exposure to chlorine negatively affects the integrity of your corneal epithelium. The epithelium provides a layer of protection to your cornea from irritants and pathogens. If that protection is compromised, you have an increased likelihood of corneal abrasion or other eye injuries.
3. Wash Hands and Avoid Rubbing Your Eyes
Studies indicate that the best way to protect yourself from the spread of communicable disease is simply to wash your hands on a regular basis. This practice is crucial to avoid contracting eye-related conditions such as conjunctivitis. You often develop conjunctivitis after touching something that someone else has touched after they rubbed their eyes.
Afterany eye surgery such as LASIK, cataract surgery or glaucoma shunt surgery, your eyes are more susceptible to infection. The Centers for Disease Controlsuggests that you wash your hands thoroughly before you apply any treatments to your eyes, and avoid rubbing your eyes as much as possible. When you have conjunctivitis, be sure to wash your hands after putting in eye drops or ointment, to avoid spreading the disease to others. When you come intoBarnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Centerfor professional eye care, you can rest assured that all specialists providing treatment or examination take your health and risk of infection very seriously.
4. Wear Hats
Even if you wear sunglasses every time you go outside, you are not offering complete UVR protection to your eyes and eyelids. Sunglasses usually have gaps along the sides where UVR exposure occurs. While you wear your sunglasses, minimize your risk and add a hat with a brim at least 3 inches wide. Consistent use of hats and sunglasses significantly decrease your UVR exposure.
The Medical Details: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a form of skin cancer that typically affects the eyelids, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. While it most commonly occurs on the lower eyelid, the site of most frequent exposure, it can also develop in the corners of the eye or under the eyebrows. While BCC does not usually spread to other parts of the body, it can certainly spread to the eye itself.
5. Protect Against Chemicals
While people are more likely to sustain chemical burns to their eyes while at work, there are several opportunities to hurt your eyes in non-occupational tasks, as well.
- Hand or body soap bubbles that pop near your eyes
- Spray paint that blows back into your face
- Splashing cleaning solutions
These are all circumstances which can cause a chemical burn on your eyes; some more severe than others. You can prevent chemical exposure by taking appropriate precautions. Wear protective goggles or protective eyewear whenever you are working with any kind of toxic chemicals. Take care to handle solutions delicately, so that they do not splash.
The Medical Details: A 2013 analysis of chemical exposure claimed that eye-related chemical burns represent a serious ocular emergency that can ultimately cause serious damage or blindness. The CDC says 2,000 workers a day in the U.S. sustain an eye-related injury.
6. Keep Children Safe and Start Young with Eye Protection
Too many people realize in adulthood that they should have thought of protecting their eyes when they were young. It is never too early to start with your children, however. The World Health Organization notes that as much as 80 percent of a person’s lifetime UVR exposure occurs prior to the age of 18. That is because children are far more likely to spend time playing outside, particularly during the warmer months. Thankfully, the solution is much the same as it is for adults. Apply regular sunscreen, particularly on your child’s face. Add a hat with a wide brim and comfortable sunglasses
The Medical Details: A child’s ocular lenses do not filter out UV light as efficiently as an adult’s, according to The Vision Council. This means that children can sustain eye damage more readily.
7. Wear Eye Protection During Outdoor Activities
If you have ever had dust or sand in your eye, you know that chemical exposure is not the only environmental threat to your eyes. You should try to protect yourself, as much as practically possible, from contact with foreign bodies that can cause abrasions to your eye.
Most corneal injuries heal in a day or two without too much pain or difficulty. However, some environments, such as woodworking or yardwork, present a higher risk of long-term injury. Always look to prevention first, through the use of glasses or other personal protective equipment to shield your face and eyes from potential damage. Remember that certain medical eye conditions, such aschronic dry eyes, increase your risk of corneal abrasion. Seekingdry eye treatmentor corneal exams fromBarnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Centerensures that your eyes get the best care.
8. Eat Healthy and Drink Plenty of Water
You may be surprised to learn that what you eat has the power to affect how well you see. It’s not just carrots.
There are many foods rich in nutrients that improve your eyesight and help prevent the development of long-term vision problems. Lutein and zeaxanthin are antioxidants known to help resist macular degeneration and cataracts. Adding a supplement or foods high in Vitamin C, Vitamin E and zinc can assist those with symptoms of age-related macular degeneration; they help slow or prevent the progression of symptoms.
Additionally, during the summer, people are more likely to become dehydrated, which can affect their eyes. Serious dehydration makes it harder for the body to produce tears, leading todry eye symptomsand other vision problems. Drinking plenty of water each day can prevent and reverse many of the negative effects of dehydration, as well as providing fluid for normal eye function.
9. Use Eye Drops
Sometimes, despite your best attempts, you need to use some kind of eye drops to minimize pain or manage other eye problems. This can be especially true for those going through glaucoma surgery recovery.
If you have allergies that make your eyes feel tired or excessively dry, you may also benefit from ketotifen eye drops. However, you should also consult a qualified ophthalmologist to discuss a chronic need for eye drops.Dry eye symptomsmay arise from temporary exposure to contaminants, or they could be a sign of something more serious. A specialist atBarnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Centercan assess your concerns withchronic dry eyesand provide adry eye treatment that addresses the cause of your problems.
10. Get Adequate Sleep
Although you know how important it is to get a good night’s rest, you may find it hard to get the sleep you need, particularly with a busy lifestyle. However, your eyes are counting on you to be rested.
In 2008, researchers discovered that people who have been awake as little as 18 hours start to suffer decreased cognition on visual tasks. This might not seem like a big problem until you realize that you need visual acuity to drive safely or attend to potentially dangerous activities like cooking or caring for children. Additionally, when you are tired, your eyes are more likely to feel dry. This encourages you to rub your eyes to stimulate the lacrimal gland, which increases the likelihood of exposure to irritants and diseases. The best way you can keep yourself alert and safe is to aim for a full night of sleep every night.
Those 10 tips will help your eyes over the summer. The best thing you can do to care for your eyes in the summer is to wear protective eyewear and a hat for any outdoor activities or tasks that involve potential exposure to toxic chemicals or other contaminants. While you follow this advice for prevention, you can make sure your children do the same.
By taking a proactive approach to eye care during the hot summer months, you can minimize the amount of time you need professional eye care. When you are looking for a specialist for general eye health, the experts at Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center are ready to help you.