Summer Eye Protection | Wind & Water

Windy or dry air can evaporate the tear film on your eyes and cause irritation, pain, and blurry vision, infectious diseases and viruses (contaminants) can enter your eyes and cause conjunctivitis, and exposure to chemicals can damage your corneas. Eye protection provides a barrier that can protect your eyes from all these potential threats.

Swimming in a pool, the ocean, or a lake can expose your eyes to contaminants. The chlorine in pool water can damage the corneal epithelium and the ocean and lakes can have other contaminants. The simple solution is to wear goggles whenever you swim.

Chemicals can Burn Eyes

Chemicals can burn your eyes and depending on the chemical, they can cause corneal damage. Cleaning chemicals can splash up and enter your eye, spray paint can blow back and enter your eye, so again the best solution for this possible problem is prevention. Whenever you are working with chemicals wear eye protection.

Woodworking and yard work also present a high risk of eye injury, so again, prevention is recommended. Wear protective eye wear to prevent wood chips or branches from scratching and damaging your eyes.

Conjunctivitis is the inflammation of the white part of your eye, the conjunctiva. Some of the symptoms are redness, itching, and excessive tearing. Conjunctivitis is highly contagious, and studies show that the best way to protect yourself from developing conjunctivitis is to wash your hands on a regular basis. Conjunctivitis is often caused by touching something that someone else has touched and deposited bacteria or virus on, and then after touching the contaminated object, rubbing your eyes.

LASIK Has Risk

Any eye surgery such as LASIK, cataract, or glaucoma surgery will make your eyes more susceptible to infection, so after any of these surgeries while your eyes are still healing, it is especially important to wash your hands thoroughly before you apply any prescribed drops to your eyes.  

Being out in the wind and dry air can cause the tear film on your eye to evaporate too quickly leading to dry eye. The symptoms of dry eyes are itchy, gritty, scratchy, burning eyes, or a feeling of having something in your eye. 

If your dry eye was caused by overexposure to wind or dry air, artificial tears can relieve your symptoms. And again, eye protection when you are out in windy or dry air can prevent dry eye. In this case wraparound sunglasses provide the best protection. If your dry eye persists, see your eye doctor who can prescribe other treatments.