Q. Are blue eyes more sensitive to irritation and sunlight?
A. Probably not, according to Dr. Brian G. Pazzo, an ophthalmologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital.
"First, as far as I know, color does not determine if the eyes become irritated easily," Dr. Pazzo said. "Some people with allergies, either ocular or full-body, tend to be very irritated by pollen, dust or dryness, and the irritation exists regardless of eye color."
As to the second question, Dr. Pazzo said, "In terms of light sensitivity, which is also called photophobia, light-colored eyes, like light-colored skin, have less of the pigment melanin and are probably more susceptible to the harmful effects of the sun, like certain types of eye cancer, but I know of no good long-term studies that demonstrate that blue eyes are more sensitive to light."
Dr. Pazzo said that he had seen hundreds of cases of blepharitis, or inflammation of the eyelid, and rosacea, a skin irritation that can affect the eye area, and that from what he had observed, the irritation was more related to skin color than to eye color.
The iris is the colored part of the eye, while the pupil in the middle determines how much light gets to the back of the eyeball. "Oftentimes people with light-colored eyes have larger pupils," Dr. Pazzo said, but added, "In thousands of patients and colleagues, I have never seen reports that light-colored eyes are more sensitive to light."