About 50 percent of actual eye damage occurs before the age of 18. This means children need eye protection even more than adults do. Here is a bit of information to help your kids stay protected when playing outside this summer.
Human eyes have natural mechanisms of protection from the light and foreign bodies, such as eye lashes, blinking, tearing or even the bone structure around the eyes.
But just as excessive sun exposure can damage your skin, it can also damage your eyes over time, causing photokeratitis or contributing to cataracts or macular degeneration. All because of the harmful effects of UV radiation.
The natural lens in your eye blocks out more UV light as you get older. This means the younger you are, the more important it is to protect your eyes from UV rays. Hence, it is extremely important to get your kids a pair of sunglasses before letting them play outside in the summer, so that their fragile eyes stay protected, whilst they are still developing.
But sunglasses are not just for protection in sunny days. Cloudy days can do as much harm to children as bright clear days. Even though it seems odd, you can get as much, or even more, sun exposure on an overcast day than you can on a bright day.
What is UV Radiation?
The sun’s UV radiation breaks down into three types: UV-A, UV-B and UV-C. And although the earth’s ozone layer absorbs UV-C rays, both UV-A and UV-B rays penetrate that layer and can cause damage.
When picking the right pair of sunglasses for children, choose shades that screen out most of the damaging UV rays. If a certain pair of sunglasses neglects to offer details about UV protection, avoid those. Keep in mind that the colour and degree of darkness of the lenses have nothing to do with the sunglasses’ ability to block UV rays.
Euro Optics UK Ltd is one of the UK’s largest importer, wholesaler and distributor of eyewear, with over 30 years’ experience. If you wish to know more about sunglasses, reading glasses and eyewear, keep checking our blog or visit Euro Optics UK | Wholesaler of Sunglasses, Reading Glasses and Optical Frames at www.euro-optics.co.uk.