Summer and eye health: tips to protect your eyesight
Summer is almost upon us. Engaging in outdoor activities and spending too much time in the sun can be bad for your eyes. For this reason, during the summer it is essential to pay close attention to the importance of eye health in order to preserve it. In this article, we will provide you with some tips to help you understand how to protect your eyes in summer.
How to preserve eye health in summer
During the summer season it is essential to protect and preserve the health of the eyes, which are exposed to the sun, wind, salt water, chlorine, pollen, fine dust, and reflective surfaces of the sea and mountains. As a result , you may increase your chances of developing eye disorders. To avoid them , it is essential to follow some simple rules, so in this article we will find out how to protect your eyes in summer.
Wear appropriate sunglasses
Sunglasses can effectively block UV rays and are therefore essential in summer for avoid common eye problems.
Many studies have shown that sunglasses can protect against eye diseases, including cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and pterygium. It’s a tip to follow even when it’s cloudy, as UV rays can damage your eyes at any time of year.
Wearing sunglasses with polarized lenses when exposed to the sun helps reduce eye strain and fatigue and enjoy your time outdoors even more. In addition, wearing them while driving improves vision.
It is essential to choose sunglasses that protect 100% from UVA and UVB rays.
Wearing a hat
Wide-brimmed hats offer better protection from the sun’s rays.
Children who have more sensitive eyes than adults or those who suffer from visual impairments need greater protection. It is necessary to equip yourself with hats to protect the eyes and increase the protection of the eyeballs and eyelids, significantly reducing exposure to UV rays.
Use eye drops
Use eye drops which can prevent infections and reduce inflammation.
Apply films to windows to block UV rays
Protective films applied to the windows of your house or car can significantly reduce UV radiation. UVA rays can pass through glass. That’s why UV-blocking adhesive films are necessary if you want to enjoy the summer at home or if you want to take a long car trip with peace of mind.
Wear protective goggles
Wear proper eye protection when engaging in outdoor activities, such as swimming, biking, hiking, or doing DIY work. In particular, wearing goggles when swimming can avoid annoying burning because chlorine from swimming pools irritates the eyes. The same goes for salt and other contaminants in the sea. Chemical or bacterial conjunctivitis can also occur if you do not wear protective glasses while working around the house in the garden.
Rest your eyes every 20 minutes and choose good reading aids
If you’re staying at home watching TV or working in front of your PC screen on hot summer days, take breaks every 20 minutes.
Staying glued to the screen causes eye strain, but also blurred vision, dry eye syndrome and headaches.
Quit smoking and eating nutritious foods
Serious eye diseases, including dry eye syndrome, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, are most common among smokers. Avoiding smoking is the best solution to reduce the risk of developing these diseases.
On the other hand, a good and healthy diet promotes eye health. It is preferable to consume fruits, vegetables and other foods rich in vitamins and antioxidants.
The nutrients contained in leafy green vegetables, especially spinach, cabbage and broccoli, preserve vision and can even prevent certain conditions such as dry eyes and age-related macular degeneration.
The eyes also benefit from eating foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, such as nuts and salmon.
A balanced, nutrient-rich diet helps keep blood sugar and weight under control and avoid diseases such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure that cause eye problems.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is important to protect your eyes. Longer days in summer can sometimes result in insufficient sleep that makes it difficult to focus on daily activities, including those that require some attention, such as reading or driving. Rubbing the eyes due to drowsiness can also introduce irritants or bacteria into the eyes , and tired eyes are often dry and irritated.
UV exposure, a risk to eye health
UV rays are always the biggest concern in summer and several eye disorders are linked to sun exposure. These can result in growths forming on the surface of the eye, as well as cataracts and macular degeneration.
We all love to have fun during the summer, but we are exposed to UV rays more than we think.
Ultraviolet rays can reflect off materials such as water, asphalt, sand or grass and damage the eye without your knowledge.
Car windows and most windows in homes let in UVA rays, so we’re actually exposed to these harmful rays even when we’re indoors.
UV rays are more intense in summer, but many do not realize that without adequate protection, their eyes are at serious risk and permanent damage. These rays can cause eye disease and the damage, once done, is irreversible. Therefore, summer is a particularly dangerous season for eye health.
The most common eye diseases in summer
Although eye problems can occur at any time of the year, some eye diseases are more common in the summer due to the extreme heat.
Dry eyes, pterygium and allergic conjunctivitis are problems that undermine eye health in summer.
In recent years, as temperatures have risen, related eye diseases have also increased.We are talking about the following eye diseases:
- Dry eye. Dry eyes occur when high temperatures cause the tear film to evaporate too quickly. The most common symptoms are: sensitivity to light, sore and irritated eyes that water more than usual, blurry vision, and eye redness. People who have had eye diseases in the past are more vulnerable to dry eyes.
- Prolonged exposure to UV rays can cause pterygium, a fleshy, triangular growth on the conjunctiva of the eye. The eyes may be red, swollen and irritable in mild cases, while in severe cases there is a decrease or distortion of vision due to the change in the shape of the cornea. The pterygium can grow to cover the cornea. Without timely treatment, patients can lose their vision and consequently have major limitations in their quality of life. Wearing high-quality sunglasses is essential to prevent pterygium from recurring.
- Eye allergies. Allergies are normally caused by allergens. The most common triggers are: pollen, trees, weeds, dust, mold, cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes.
The most common symptoms of summer allergies are watery eyes, itching, redness, burning and congestion. Although summer allergies depend mainly on the reaction of allergens and the condition of the eye, the best treatment is prevention.
If you can treat your eyes immediately, summer allergies will not cause long-term damage to your eye health.
