School's out, summer's here and sales of sun block soar. We take advantage of the company picnic, grill in the back yard and manage to take in a few ball games - all in the sun.

While most people take pains to stay safe in the water and avoid a blistering sunburn, many forget entirely to take proper care of their eyes during the hottest season.

According to Virginia optometrist Thomas P. Finley, writing in the June 2008 issue of Your Health, around 6,400 Americans are treated each year for injuries related to fireworks over the 4th of July period. Nearly 1,300 of them receive eye injuries.

Many muncipalities take advantage of the warm summer wear to hold additional fireworks displays. Finley writes that each year, fireworks rob up to 400 Americans of their sight. One way to avoid this danger is to attend only public fireworks displays run by licensed operators. You should also carefully supervise all children under 16, who suffer 60 percent of all eye injuries related to fireworks.

The majority of injuries happen to bystanders, not workers handling the fireworks. The highest number of injuries is linked to bottle rockets, firecrackers and sparklers.

Extended hours of daylight are also directly related to increased outdoor activities and related eye injuries. Finley confirms that sports such as baseball, softball, tennis, basketball, paint ball and golf can cause serious injuries to your eyes. For individuals who wear glasses, polycarbonate lenses is important to resist impact. Anyone performing outside work such as mowing grass or whacking weeds should wear protective goggles and make sure sunglasses have impact-resistant lenses due to the danger of flying rocks or stones. Random pieces of ash from the grill can also wreak havoc.

Just as you protect your skin from a sunburn during the summer months, you should avoid sunlight so bright that it causes you to squint and strain your eyes. Long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays can trigger premature formation of cataracts, skin cancer in the area around the eyes and macular degeneration. It's important to make sure you wear quality sunglasses to keep the sun from damaging your eyes.

If you wear glasses, consider purchasing photochromic lenses. These darken when you step outside. Clip-on sunglasses will also protect your eyes if you don't have prescription sunglasses.

Finley explains that since children typically spend much more time outdoors than adults, it's especially important to protect them from UV rays with sunglasses. He adds that baseball hats also offer some protection from the sun's harmful rays.

Learn more about this author, Vonda Sines.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Taking good care of your eyes?
We want to hear your view. Write now!