With the excitement of summer often comes heightened outdoor activities. Biking, swimming, hiking, boating, climbing, camping … all are fun outdoor activities that we enjoy throughout the summer. How to make sure you are protecting your eyes throughout the summer properly while still enjoying all of our summer fun?
Protection With Sunglasses
Our eyes definitely need sunglasses to protect them from the sun when outside. Good sunglasses will be large enough to cover all of your eye area (over-sized or wrapped around your face), and will provide a full 100% UV protection. The shade of the lenses in your sunglasses isn’t what determines the UV protection, so don’t think you need to wear extremely dark sunglasses to get protection. Instead, just look that they have 100% UV protection.
Protection From Dry Eyes
Standing in the Southern Utah summer wind can feel like standing directly in front of a blow dryer. It is hot and dry! And boy do our eyes feel it!! When your eyes feel scratchy or gritty, tired, water excessively or burn, you could be experiencing symptoms of dry eye. Dry eye can become a serious chronic condition, depending on the cause of it. Dr. Smith has simple techniques to assess dry eye, so if you are experiencing those symptoms, don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment to see him – you don’t want to wait until it gets too advanced, as the damage can be irreversible. To help protect from dry eye throughout the summer, make sure you are blinking often. Wearing your sunglasses will also help protect your eyes from some of that extreme dry air. If necessary, you can use an artificial tear eye drop to provide a little extra relief.
Protection While In The Water
If you are going to be swimming this summer, we recommend you don’t wear your contacts while you are doing it. Contact lenses can easily trap bacteria from the pool in your eyes, providing the bacteria with the perfect warm and moist environment to multiply. In addition to this, when contacts are in the water, they can swell up and tighten around the cornea of your eye. This can cause irritation and make it more difficult to remove them. If you insist on wearing your contacts while in the water, try wearing some goggles as well to protect your eyes.
Protection For Sports
Biking, boating, shooting, fishing, and golfing, to name a few summer sports, all have specific eye wear that is intended to best optimize performance and function while participating in that sport. Talk to our highly educated team to find out what is best for you and your sport.
We love our patients! That is why we want you to stay safe and healthy this summer.
If we can assist you in finding the right protection for you eyes, please give us a call. 435-359-2020