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Will staring at the sun damage your eyes7/14/2023 UVA is responsible for most damage to the macula – an area in the centre of your retina. The Cancer Council Australia states that long term UV radiation exposure is associated with macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a disease that leads to progressive loss of central vision, leaving a person with blurred or no vision at all in the centre of their field of vision. Lesions on the eyelids can be benign (tumours which don’t spread) or malignant (cancerous), so should always be examined by a doctor or dermatologist, as should any spots, moles or other lesions around the eyes. Skin cancers around the eyes, especially on the eyelids, are common in Australia due to our high exposure to UV. They appear as a nodule on the front of the eye, and there may be visible blood vessels leading to the nodule. The main risk factor is exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. These are slow growing tumours, but can result in loss of sight. Pingueculae are also benign (non-cancerous). As well as UV light, wind and dust are thought to contribute to their development. However, it is believed that a pinguecula can turn into a pterygium. Like a pterygium, it often forms in the corner of the eye near your nose, but differently, it will not grow across the cornea. PingueculaeĪ pinguecula is a yellow-ish or chalky-coloured growth on the conjunctiva. Pterygia are benign and do not cause cancer. They may also cause problems for contact lens wearers. For this reason they may be surgically removed. Dusty environments may also contribute to the development of pterygia.Ī pterygium is usually painless, but if left untreated it may grow across the cornea and cause vision problems. They occur in people who spend long periods of time outdoors exposed to UV light, such as surfers. Pterygia are usually flesh-coloured and pink. A pterygium usually starts at the corner of the eye near the nose. Sometimes called ‘ surfer’s eye’, pterygium is a soft fleshy overgrowth of the conjunctiva, the clear layer on the surface of the eyeball and inside the eyelids. They recommend wearing them whenever the light is bright enough to make you squint, even on cloudy days and especially at high elevations. UV rays are one of the known causes of cataracts, a gradual clouding of the lens of the eye that can destroy vision.Ĭataracts develop slowly, but eventually will result in symptoms, such as blurriness, halos around lights and blurred vision.Įxperts say that sunglasses help prevent cataracts. Exposure to both visible light and UV radiation is also a factor in the gradual degeneration of the retina, damage to the cornea, and pterygium (an overgrowth of the conjunctiva). The sun’s damage to the eyes does not stop with cataracts. For example, farmers are likely to develop problems such as cataracts at a younger age than office workers. The effects of sunlight on the eye are cumulative and depend on the length of time spent in the sun. The symptoms of photokeratitis are:īurns to the retina are more serious and permanent and can be caused by looking at a solar eclipse. These conditions are very painful, but symptoms usually resolve in a day or 2. Welder’s flash or ‘arc eye’ is another form. Snow blindness is a form of photokeratitis. They can be caused by directly looking at the sun, or by reflected UV from snow, concrete, water and sand, or from arc welding. Both feel like a sunburn to the eye and are caused by UVB rays. Photoconjunctivitis is when the conjunctiva (the mucous membranes on the front of the eyeball and inside the eyelids) are inflamed by UV radiation. Photokeratitis is inflammation of the cornea (the dome-like outermost front part of the eye) caused by UV radiation. In the short term, exposure to high doses of UV radiation can cause certain eye conditions. As well as from the sun, UV radiation is emitted in very high amounts by solariums and sunbeds.
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