As you head outside to enjoy the warmer summer weather, remember to keep your eyes safe too! Most people remember to put on SPF-protecting sunscreen but don’t do anything to protect their eyes. Fortunately, our eye doctors are here to help with these great summer vision tips to help prevent damage to your eyes.
1. Get UV protection for the eyes.
Don’t spray sunscreen into the eye ever! It will burn, sting, and hurt. Plus, it can damage the eyes. Instead, the easiest way to get UV protection for the eyes is to buy sunglasses that offer 100% UV protection. The sunglasses may also be labeled as UV400, which means the same thing.
2. Stay in the shade as much as possible.
When you are outdoors, wear a hat or carry a small umbrella so you can keep your face and eyes shaded from the sun. Umbrellas are also great on extremely hot days since they can provide more shade than just a hat.
3. Drink plenty of water.
It is important to keep hydrated, and this includes the eyes. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water when spending time outside this summer. Sports drinks and iced teas are also acceptable; just make sure to avoid the ones that are high in sugar.
4. Wear UV-protection goggles when swimming.
When spending time in the water, don’t forget your eyes. The UV rays from the sun reflect off the water and can cause serious sunburn around and in the eyes. Goggles are ideal when swimming in pools too. Most pools use chlorine and other chemicals to kill bacteria and germs that can irritate and burn the eyes.
5. Wash your hands frequently.
When spending time outdoors, we touch a lot of different things. Get into the habit of washing your hands every hour with soap and water. If you don’t have access for washing your hands, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
6. Avoid rubbing and touching the eyes.
Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is easily transmitted from one person to another simply by touching an infected surface and then rubbing your eyes. Plus, rubbing your eyes when they itch only causes them to become more irritated. Not to mention, you could introduce dust, dirt, sand, or some other bacterial or viral infection in the eyes.
7. Take a break mid-day and cool down.
If you are outdoors on an extremely hot day, head indoors mid-day when it is the hottest and the UV radiation is the strongest. Plan to take a break and go inside where it is cooler and allow your body to cool down. Then head back outside later in the day for more summertime fun.
8. Talk to your eye doctor about eye drops for seasonal allergies.
If you have seasonal allergies, make sure to get eye drops to keep your eyes from itching and be sure to avoid rubbing them. Your eye doctor can recommend which eye drops to use or even write a prescription if you need it.
9. If you do get sunburned, take a break from the outdoors.
Sunburns are not fun, especially when they are on the face or the eyes. Make sure to apply aloe vera to sunburned skin to help keep it moisturized. For sunburned eyes, you will want to call your eye care provider and schedule an appointment to find out if there is any significant damage to your eyes, as well as to get eye drops to help alleviate any pain.
We hope that by using these summer vision tips, you can keep your eyes safe all summer long!
If you sunburned your eyes, need non-prescription or prescription UV400 sunglasses, or have other concerns about your eye health, please feel free to contact ADV Vision Centers at (805) 987-5300 today!