6 Tips For Eye Care And Sight Protection For Seniors And Elders
Your family member or senior citizen may not notice that the sun has harmed their skin or their eyes. By taking appropriate steps as the caregiver, you can help your family member avoid painful situations like sunburn or eyeburn.
Skin needs protection from the sun - that's why it's so important to protect your skin with an SPF rated suntan lotion to prevent burns. Especially for seniors, it's important to protect skin from burning, but many people who are conscientious about protecting their skin fail to recognize that eyes need protection too.
Sun Harmful To Eyes
A lifetime of time spent outdoors winds up with long term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays and blue light rays. Although you can't see these spectrums, they can injure your eyes.
Over time, repeat exposure to UV rays can elevate risk factors that can lead to vision loss. Some of the age related vision issues may include:
- Cataracts.
- Age-related macular degeneration.
- Benign growths (pterygia) on the eye's surface.
- Moles and skin tissue tags
- Skin cancer near the eyes
Eyeburn - Sunburn of the Eyes
Spending just one day in the bright sun without adequate protection can result in eye damage. Surfaces, such as snow, water, sand or light concrete may amplify the sun's rays and accelerate the damage. Believe it or not, eyes can become sunburned if exposed to too much ultraviolet light especially if it's amplified:
- Photokeratitis - sunburn or inflammation of the cornea (the eye's surface)
- Photoconjunctivitis - sunburn or swelling of the conjunctiva (the tissue that covers the white part of the eye)
Discomfort caused by sunburn of the eye can be painful, and may begin shortly after exposure.
Tips to protect your eyes
Take these six steps to shield your eyes from the sun's destructive rays:
- Wear sunglasses where UV light is most intense,even during cloudy days. The ultra violet rays pass through clouds and haze and can damage your eyes.
- Invest in sunglasses that are rated to block at least 99% of UVA AND UVB rays. Be sure the lenses are large enough to shield the eye from oblique angles.
- Special sunglasses are available for people with macular degeneration. These have side panels and a ridge at the top that filter out all light.
- Carry a spare pair of sunglasses just in case the original pair is lost or broken.
- To be sure your sunglasses were accurately labeled, have your yet care professional or optician check the UV protection.
- Wear hat or cap with a brim that will block the sun.
If you notice that your family member is squinting or seems to be uncomfortable in bright lights, be sure to visit an eye care professional to have the situation evaluated.
prn is a home health care provider located in the Pittsburgh metro area, specializing in elder health, home health care, in-home health services and long term care.