As we welcome summer, the weather is getting nicer and our days are getting brighter, making it the best season for enjoying the warm sun. However, before you make plans to spend some time outside, you should always have a plan for protecting yourself from the summer heat. Of course, we all know about applying sunblock to prevent sunburn or drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration. But what about your eyes? Eyes can get very sensitive, especially against something as harsh as the sun’s rays. That’s why it’s very important during this time of year to take special precautions to keep your eyes healthy and safe! Don’t know where to start?
Here are 5 summer time eye care tips from Excel Laser Vision Institute, a Los Angeles LASIK eye center:
1) Wear sunglasses and hats
Just like your skin needs protection from the sun, so do your eyes! Usually, when thinking about the dangers of too much sun, sunburn of the skin is the first thing that comes to mind. However, our eyes can get burned too! A sunburn of the eyes, called photokeratitis, happens when the cornea gets inflamed from too much UV ray exposure. Photokeratitis produces several painful symptoms, like eye pain, swelling, headaches, and blurred vision. However, there are ways you can keep these harsh UV rays out of your eyes to prevent this issue, like wearing sunglasses with UVA and UVB protection as well as a wide-brimmed hat whenever you go outside.
2) Wash your hands frequently
Of course, if you’re spending more time outdoors, it also means that you’re probably getting your hands dirty! To prevent any infections, you should always make sure you’re washing your hands frequently and avoid touching your eyes. This is especially true if you wear contacts since contact wearers who forego sanitary habits when dealing with their eyes are more prone to getting infections. However, besides washing your hands, if you wear contacts and want to decrease your odds of getting a painful eye infection, you may want to consider a Los Angeles LASIK procedure so you don’t need to worry about keeping your contacts clean!
3) Keep your eyes hydrated
Dry and hot weather can have serious consequences on the eyes. These harsh elements irritate the tear film, a thin liquid layer surrounding the eye. The tear film is responsible for keeping our eyes lubricated and helping us see accurately. However, too much sun can severely disturb this delicate film, leading to a condition called dry eyes. Dry eyes are extremely uncomfortable, often causing symptoms such as burning, itchiness, and stinging of the eyes, as well as blurry vision, and light sensitivity. Fortunately, this can be avoided with the help of artificial tears. Artificial tears are eye drops that can be applied directly to the eyes to help keep them moisturized and feeling refreshed!
4) Don’t skip the protective gear
If you’re spending more time outside, chances are you’re also getting physical. Whether you’re playing a friendly game of baseball, swimming laps, or doing some landscaping, you should always keep your eyes safe by wearing the appropriate protective eye gear to reduce the risk of an eye injury. Eye injuries can be caused by many factors, such as getting your cornea scratched by a foreign object or bruising the surrounding muscles from a hard strike to the eye. As any Los Angeles LASIK eye center will tell you, these types of injuries can cause various long-term vision problems, as well as irritation and pain, which is why it’s always important to wear your eye gear when necessary!
5) Keep contact out of the water
What summer is complete without a dip in the water? But be careful if you wear contacts! Whether you’re swimming in a pool or jumping into lakes, lenses can actually absorb excess water. This poses a health risk since water can hold all sorts of dangerous substances, like dirt, chlorine, bacteria, and pathogens. None of this is good for your eyes and may lead to other vision complications. Because of this, contact wearers should refrain from swimming with their lenses on. However, if having to forgo your vision makes you uncomfortable, you can also opt to get laser eye surgery to restore your vision without the aid of lenses or glasses!