Eye disorders caused by sun damage can be painful, frustrating, and debilitating. As most people who have spent a fair amount of time outside know, there are several elements of the sun’s UV rays that are extremely dangerous. Most people may be familiar with the idea that not protecting their eyes from the sun’s light can be dangerous, but it is probably likely that they are not fully aware of all of the inherent risks of continual exposure to the harmful rays produced by the sun. In fact, it is now common knowledge in the world of science and health that the same rays which can literally burn one’s skin and cause things like skin cancer have the strength to permanently damage their eyes. The question for the average person, and in particular the person who spends a lot of time in the outdoors, then becomes: what are the risks? How exactly can this invisible, yet often debilitating, enemy slowly but surely destroy a person’s eyes?
Perhaps the most obvious negative effect of the sun’s potentially lethal UV rays is the burning of the eye. This means quite literally what it says: too much exposure to light that is of the ultraviolet nature will eventually lead to a burning of the surface of the eye. This surface of the eye, called the cornea is much more sensitive than most people expect, and because of that, its care is often neglected. Just as a person may unknowingly receive a sunburn on their skin, they may also find a bit of a sunburn on their cornea. It can be so serious (not too mention painful) that if a person were to stare directly into the sun’s light, there is a good chance that they’d permanently scar their retina. This would be an extremely negative thing, as the retina is the part of the eye, located at the back of the eye, that is solely responsible for vision.
Another destructive consequence of unblocked UV rays is a rare condition called pterygium. This does not happen often, but when it does, it can be both very painful and detrimental to one’s sight. What happens is that an abnormal (yet noncancerous) growth develops in the corner of the eye, close to the nose. It can gradually spread over the cornea, thus partially blocking vision. If this does occur, the only way to fix it is through surgery.
Other negative effects of overexposure to the sun’s UV rays are cancer, cataracts, and macular degeneration. Cancer can develop on a person’s eyelids and the skin surrounding the eye if there is overexposure. Cataracts are a common situation that may develop over the course of many years. A person who finds that they have cataracts will have experienced a clouding of the lens. One final consequence of not protecting one’s eyes from the dangerous rays of the sun is a condition called macular degeneration. A person who has this condition will experience a tremendous amount of damage to their macula, which is the middle part of the retina. Macular degeneration is such a serious condition that it has now become the leading cause of blindness among Americans who are older than 55.
The good news is that all of these painful and potentially debilitating conditions can be avoided. People will find that eye disorders caused by sun damage will not affect them if they thoroughly protect their eyes from the sun’s dangerous rays.
