5 things you didn't know about … protecting your eyes

1. More than fashion: Sunglasses and a hat can protect your eyes from UV rays and reduce the risk of cataracts and retinal damage. They also protect the sensitive skin around your eyes, which, if overexposed to the sun, can result in eyelid cancers and wrinkling.

2. Eye burn: Artificial sources of UVB rays - tanning beds, halogen desk lamps - can cause snowblindness, the burning of the cornea. The condition also occurs at high altitudes on highly reflective snow fields. Symptoms include tearing, pain, redness and temporary loss of vision. Treatment consists of eye patches and an antibiotic solution.

3. Watch out: Pterygium, a noncancerous growth over the white part of the eye, has been diagnosed more frequently in people who spend a lot of time in the sun and wind, i.e, fishermen, surfers. No treatment is required, unless it blocks your vision. Then, it can be removed surgically.

4. Read the label: Don't be fooled into thinking that pricey sunglasses provide the best protection. The label is more important than the price tag. Make sure it says 99 percent to 100 percent UV protection, and make sure the label on your children's sunglasses says the same.

5. Partly cloudy: Keep wearing your sunglasses, even on a cloudy day. Clouds do not wipe out UV rays.

Wear your shades to protect your eyes

CIVIC leader Colin Burgess and his family are promoting eye health this summer by looking cool.

The Congleton Borough Mayor and his five grandchildren are donning their sunglasses as part of Shades Day.

The event is organised by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, and Cllr Burgess, from Alsager, is encouraging people to take part.

Research has shown spending five or more hours outside every day in the summer in your teens and early adult years increases risk of long-term eye damage.

Children and adults are urged to put on sunglasses, a sun visor or hat to protect them from harmful UV sunlight.

This will help reduce your risk from such eye conditions as Age-related Macular Degeneration and cataracts.

“I value the health of my grandchildren, and it is extremely important to wear sunglasses,” said Cllr Burgess.

“Shades Day is a fantastic way to raise money for Guide Dogs and to highlight the importance of wearing sunglasses.”

Tom Pey from Guide Dogs said educating people in how to protect their sight was important.

“One simple way to keep eyes healthy is to wear your sunglasses,” he said.

“If you are outside and the light is so bright you have to squint or turn your head away you know you have to put on your shades.

“Experts recommend wraparound-style sunglasses marked with Type 2 or 3 and with a CE symbol.

“To cut out the most damaging blue light it’s best to choose shades with yellowish or amber lenses.”

Summer sun can play havoc with your skin and eyes

Unprotected eyes and skin, the most sensitive body parts, are at the peril of damage as the amount of dangerous ultraviolet (UV) radiation increases in the summer sunlight.
The rays are harmful to human health, but considered the most damaging to unprotected eyes and skin, especially in the summer months when the UV radiation is at maximum levels in the UAE.

The UV radiation starts increasing in May and reaches its maximum level in July and August. It falls to minimum levels in December.
The high radiation time is noon. This seasonal UV increase is due to rays which filter through the protective ozone layer that absorbs much of this dangerous radiation. The UV rays are emitted by the Sun.
Most people, said experts, think UV rays are harmful only to their skin, but they are highly damaging to eyes.

Around 99 per cent of the radiation is absorbed by the anterior structures of the eye but some of it does reach the light-sensitive retina.
"Just like skin gets burnt by UV radiation, the eye can also suffer damage," said Dr Riaz Ahmad Minhas, a physician at the Emirates Clinic and Medical Centre in Al Ain. The effects of UV radiation are more insidious and detrimental to the eye than had been suspected previously, he noted.

Any factor that increases sunlight exposure to the eyes increases the risk of ocular damage from UV radiation. Individuals whose work or play ensures lengthy exposure to sunlight are at greatest risk, he said.

The latest research on animals and fish has shown premature ageing of the lens has long been associated with UV radiation.
"In the light of these findings, the experts suggest that medical practitioners should not hesitate to prescribe UV filters or appropriate sunglasses," said Dr Minhas.

He also suggests that UAE authorities should make it mandatory for companies to provide sunglasses for their field workers among other safety measures.
Dr Shabbir Saif Al Deen, an eye specialist at Al Musalla Medical Centre in Bur Dubai, said a wide-brimmed hat or cap will block roughly 50 per cent of UV radiation and reduce UV that may enter above or around the glasses.

"Ultraviolet absorbing eyewear provides the greatest measure of UV protection, particularly if it has a wraparound design to limit the entry of peripheral rays," he said.
All types of eyewear including prescription spectacles and contact lenses should absorb the entire spectrum, he added.

"These glasses must specify how much UV protection they provide."
The eye specialist also pointed out that the onset of presbyopia (inability to see close objects) occurs five years earlier in the Gulf region than in other climates.
He said many labourers in the UAE suffer from photokeratitis. It is sunburn of the cornea, resulting from excessive exposure to sunlight.

What to avoid: Taking precaution
* Wear specified sunglasses even on cloudy days

* Use dark curtains during daytime in homes having large windows

* Undergo regular eye tests to maintain their health
* Reduce the amount of time spent in the sunlight
* Avoid going to beach or boating and fishing during peak radiation time
* Do not wear short sleeve shirts
* Use sun block cream, protective clothes and hat before going out
* Drink plenty of water