Summer Eye Safety and Health Tips

The summer is a great time to get outdoors, soak up some sunshine, and enjoy swimming, barbecues, and family get-togethers. With school out for the season, vacations, and longer days, summer sometimes feels carefree. But it’s not a time to slack on eye safety. It’s vital to continue to make good choices to protect your vision and keep your eyes healthy. 

Summer Eye Safety Issues

During the summer months, eye safety may not be our top concern, but there are several possible hazards to our eyes. Understanding what could possibly affect your eye health and doing what you can to protect your eyes helps you maintain healthy vision all year long.

The summer months may affect your eye health in the following ways:

• Eye Infections and Irritation: Taking a dip in a river, lake, or pool is a great way to beat the summer heat and have some fun, but the chemicals or pathogens can also be harmful to your eyes. Microorganisms in rivers and lakes can lead to an eye infection. Chlorine and chemicals can also irritate the eyes.
• Sun Damage: The sunshine may feel nice, but too much exposure can increase your risk of certain eye diseases, such as cataracts and macular degeneration. The two main types of UV rays from the sun can both damage the eyes. UVA rays may lead to damage to the macula and affect central vision. UVB rays might cause even more damage than UVA. UVB rays can damage the lens and the cornea. Plus, both types of rays can cause skin cancer on the eyelids.
• Eye Injuries: The summer is a great time to get some home improvement projects done. But if you don’t use the proper safety goggles, you are at risk for an eye injury. Home improvement projects that could lead to flying debris or material in the eyes require safety goggles. 

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Summertime Eye Safety Tips 

You can still enjoy all the celebrations and activities of summer while keeping your eyes healthy. Consider the following tips:

• Protect Your Eyes in the Water – When you go for a swim, protect your eyes. Wear swim goggles for both indoor and outdoor pools. Goggles are also helpful in fresh water, such as lakes and rivers. Also, do not swim with contact lenses, since that can also raise your risk of infection.
• Wear Sunglasses – It’s essential to try to protect your eyes from UV rays all year round. In the summer, the days are longer, and the sun is stronger than other times of the year. The National Eye Institute recommends that you wear sunglasses that are labeled having 99 to 100 percent UV protection. It’s also helpful to wear a wide-brimmed hat to block out even more rays.
• Use Proper Eye Safety Goggles – Wearing safety goggles when doing home projects or participating in certain sports can greatly decrease your risk of eye injuries. When it comes to home improvement, the type of eyewear required depends on the project you are doing. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that you wear goggles that meet the standards established by the American National Standards Institute. Safety goggles should be worn if you’ll be doing a project that has a risk of projectiles, flying debris, or hazardous chemicals that may damage the eyes. Look for goggles that have “ANSI Z87.1” on the label.
• Celebrate Safely – Summer may bring various types of celebrations, from graduations to Independence Day. If fireworks are part of the festivities, leave it to the professionals and don’t try to set off fireworks yourself. Fireworks cause thousands of injuries a year. Over half of the injuries involve burns. Various parts of the body may be affected including the eyes. According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2017, about 14 percent of fireworks injuries were to the eyes. Injuries may include fractures to the orbital socket and corneal burns or abrasions. In some cases, trauma to the eyes can be severe enough to cause vision loss.

We hope our summer eye safety tips will help you protect your vision. If you have any questions about summer eye safety or if you would like to schedule an appointment with our eye doctors, please give us a call at 508-746-8600.