How to protect your eyes in the summer?

Summer is here! Even though, this year, it is rather rainy, we should, nonetheless, protect our eyes against harmful UV light, which is very dangerous, even during the winter. First of all we should always remember to wear proper sunglasses with UV filter. Sunglasses with dimmed lenses but without filters make our pupils dilate and let even more of the harmful UV radiation inside our eyes where it can damage delicate structures and cause irreversible changes. The colour of the lenses is also important – bronze elevates the contrast and blocks blue light well. Dark green and grey glasses do not change the colour of the objects we look at but dim them slightly. Yellow and orange glasses improve the contrast of vision during cloudy days and in the evening. We should also pay attention to the opacity of the lenses – the stronger the sunlight the smaller it should be.

Those who use contact lenses should also remember to pay special attention to eye hygiene during swimming. During swimming dirty water can infiltrate between the cornea and the lens and result in an infection. In seawater you may encounter a protozoan called acanthamoeba, contracting which may lead to damages to the cornea that are very hard to heal.

Another aspect of eye protection we often tend to forget about is the necessity to protect your eyes while cycling or driving a motorcycle, a coupe or simply with open windows. Any foreign bodies which may then fall into our eyes – insects, little stones or dust – may cause trauma which can be easily prevented by wearing appropriate eyewear. It is also advisable to keep vials with saline solution and sterile dressings at hand. If you cannot deal with the trauma yourself or if it seems severe you should visit an ophthalmologist as soon as possible or get to the nearest emergency room.

What if you had undergone a laser vision correction procedure? Then you must also pay attention to some factors – it all depends on the time that has passed since the surgery. You must not swim in pools, lakes or seas for at least 4 weeks after the procedure. It is the crucial moment in the process of healing during that period you should minimalize any chance of infection.

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