Optometrist Kaye Winship - winner of the Gazette's recent 'If we can you can' competition - tells us how to keep safe.

Getting out in the sun is one of the biggest feel-good factors for us all.

In these days of global warming much is made of the need to protect our skin from the sun's harmful ultra-violet light.

But not everyone is aware that these warnings should also extend to protecting our eyes as well.

Kaye Winship, optometrist and owner of S Walton Eyecare, said: "We are all aware that ultra-violet light, or UV, can have extremely harmful effects on our body, with the potential of causing skin-cancer and premature aging.

"But surprisingly our eyes can also fall victim during the warmer months.

"Even on the more dreary days, which we have been unfortunately prone to recently, UV light can penetrate through clouds and have a detrimental effect on our eyes."

The powerful UV rays of the sun, can bring about cataracts, macular degeneration, and has the potential to cause corneal and retinal burns and even eye cancers.

As the lens of the eye absorbs UV, a cataract can develop which can cause it to discolour and turn yellow, almost like a Gazette that is left out in the sun.

This makes vision less clear and can cause problems with visual tasks such as driving and reading as it develops over a period of time. Cataract removal surgery is then indicated.

Kaye, who this year won a Gazette-sponsored competition to find the borough's best entrepreneur, said young children, people who work outdoors, those who have blue eyes, or are taking certain types of medication, are especially vulnerable.

Sand and water, as well as snow in the winter months, also reflect a great deal of UV magnifying the sun's effect.

She added: "The best way to prevent problems is to be extra vigilant when the sun does finally appear, especially in mid-summer and around noon each day when people are most prone to its effects.

"Make sure you wear sunglasses with 100 per cent UV protection and think of these as sun cream for your eyes.

"Fashion has changed the role of sunglasses from a medical device to a high-fashion item, an accessory to set off any outfit which can be used to protect your eyes in style."

Using sunbeds without adequate eye protection can also be highly detrimental, goggles should be worn at all times as the rays are concentrated many fold and can even cause pigmentation, or tanning of the white part of the eye.

Kaye said: "Of course looking directly at the sun should be avoided at all times, with or without sunglasses.

"After the solar eclipse of 2000, I saw two people in my clinic who had irreversibly damaged their eyesight by looking directly at this phenomenon - a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them for all the wrong reasons.

"Squinting also leads to premature wrinkling – something which people could all avoid by simply wearing sunglasses.

"So there you have it. There's the advice, all we need now is some sun!"

Fact box

• The best way to avoid eye damage is to wear sunglasses with a 100% UV protection - look for a CE mark and UV400label. Caution should be taken when buying 'copy' brands, as these, by there nature, are not what they say they are. If you are colour blind it is advisable to go for neutral tints of grey or brown especially when driving.


• Those who have had their cataracts removed have a replacement implant lens that gives full UV protection to the back of the eye, however the use of sunglasses outside is still advised.


• It is most important to wear UV protecting sunglasses when you are young and to put them on your children. A cataract develops in the natural eye when your lens becomes discoloured, cloudy and difficult to see through. When you are a child, your lens is clear, and then discolours as you get older. An older slightly discoloured lens will absorb most of the harmful UV light and protect your retina.


• There are clear symptoms for overexposure to UV light, however, they only develop about four hours after exposure - your eyes will redden and water, they will feel 'gritty' and then painful and you will become increasingly light sensitive. Fortunately symptoms subside over one to two days. This condition is often referred to as snow-blindness because reflected rays off the snow make skiers particularly susceptible.


• Most people know that severe sun burn can lead to a life- long risk of skin cancer, this is also true for tumours in and around the eye. Although eye cancers are relatively uncommon, incidents have increased in recent years and are most commonly found in people with pale coloured skin and irises and those with outdoor occupations.