At Portland’s Casey Eye Institute Dr. John Clements said 80% of UV light damage happens before your 18th birthday.
“There is a cumulative effect of UV light damage throughout a person’s life,” Dr. Clements explained. “So those years during childhood, those count toward later in life developing UV light-related damage.”
Dr. Clements said the sun’s UV radiation can cause cataracts, cancer and even growths on your eyes.
“If untreated, these can grow and if it’s on the surface of the eye, it can actually protrude off the surface of the eye and inhibit the eye from closing,” he said. “That can be intensely irritating.”
According to Dr. Clements, you should always take precautions if you know you’re going to be in the sun. He recommends children as young as toddlers start wearing sunglasses.
“I have pictures of my 18-month-old wearing sunglasses around,” Dr. Clements said.
There are currently no federal sunglass requirements regarding UV protection. According to reports from the American Optometric Association, many sunglass labels can be misleading.
“I don’t know how you can easily distinguish a counterfeit pair of sunglasses from a sunglass that is truly 100% UV blocking,” Dr. Clements said. “If the sticker says 100% UV blocking, that’s a very good start.”
Dr. Clements said price isn’t necessarily a gauge for good eye protection, either. He recommends a pair in his hospital’s showroom that goes for $155 and comes polarized to combat reflective glare.
“It’s difficult to recommend extremely cheap sunglasses because we don’t know necessarily about their manufacture process or the authenticity,” he said. “But certainly, some type of sunglass is better than none.”
Dr. Clements also said not to be fooled into thinking dark-colored lenses offer more protection. Actual UV protection is clear-coated and not visible to the eye.
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