UV risk to Children’s eyes

If your child is outdoors in the summer you may need to think about sunglasses which protect their eyes from UV rays.

‘The sight charity, Eyecare Trust, is issuing a stark warning to parents to protect their children’s eyes from the sun or put them at risk of permanent damage to their sight.

Our eyes are ten times more sensitive to UV light than our skin and children’s eyes are at the greatest risk of UV damage. Big pupils and clearer lenses mean up to 70 per cent more UV light reaches the retina than in an adult’s eye.

Latest figures from World Health Organisation estimate that this lack of natural eye protection combined with the disproportionate amount of time children spend playing outdoors could mean that as much as 80 per cent of a lifetimes’ UV is absorbed into the eye by the time a child reaches the age of 18.’

To read more about the risks of U.V to the eye read these two links

The Eyecare Trust’s full article – http://www.eyecaretrust.org.uk/view.php?item_id=508

All about vision web article – http://www.allaboutvision.com/sunglasses/spf.htm