How Can You Sunburn Your Eyes? All About Sunburn Eyes

Being exposed to the sun for a longer duration is often harmful to your health. To avoid these complications it is important to take necessary measures for getting sun protection and avoiding risking your health. Long exposure to the sun can damage your tissues which can be temporary or permanent depending on the intensity of the damage. The eyes and skin are the most sensitive parts of the human body and are more likely to get damaged by the sun. This can leave you with problems like sunburn eyes and skin. In this article, we will talk about how can you sunburn your eyes and other details that you must know related to this issue. These include the symptoms treatment and prevention strategies. On a general note, it is always advised to wear sunglasses when going out in the sun to protect your eyes from damage. Sunglasses are specially designed to block UV light and brightness from damaging your eyes.

What are Sunburn Eyes?

A popular question that we often come across is can you get a sunburn in your eyes? Yes, it is possible to get sunburned eyes if you are exposed directly to the sun for a longer duration. In medical terminology, photokeratitis is the word used for eyes sunburn which means corneal inflammation. The distinction between sunburned eyes and normal eyes in terms of appearance is the change in color from white to red or pink. For proper diagnosis of your eye condition, it is important to visit an optometrist and figure out if you have sunburn or pink eye. There are various symptoms that you can keep in mind to correctly figure out the condition of eye sunburn. These include:

• Eye pain
• Miosis or constricted pupils
• Irritated or gritty eyes
• Light sensitivity
• Temporary vision changes
• Watery eyes
• Blurry vision
• Eyelid twitching
• Headache
• Swelling or redness
• Seeing halos

How UV Rays Harm/Sunburn Your Eyes?

The most powerful source of UV rays is the sun which has significant importance in our daily life. These UV radiations are directly absorbed by our eyes and may end up leading to eye health issues. We always hear this from our elders not to stare into the sun for very long. As it can cause temporary or permanent eye damage. But one thing that we don’t know is that even reflections are also harmful to our eyes as they allow significant exposure to UV rays. The most common surfaces that are responsible for reflections include water, concrete, snow, and sand. Damage to our eyes from UV rays can lead to further complications including:

• Cataracts
• Corneal sunburn
• Eyelid skin cancer
• AMD or Age-related macular degeneration
• Pingueculae or pterygium (eye growths)

If you have this question popping up in your mind “Can you sunburn the white part of your eye?” Then the answer is yes. UV rays from the sun can damage your eye making it turn red from white. This is referred to as corneal inflammation. In case you are suffering from this issue or you have pain in your eyes, it is best to seek medical help from your optometrist. You should get an emergency eye appointment if the condition worsens to avoid further complications like permanent eye damage or vision loss.

How to Prevent your Eyes from Sunburn?

Preventing sunburn eyes is always the best to avoid dealing with sunburn complications later. Taking suitable preventive measures is good for maintaining your long-term eye health and saving your eyes from temporary or permanent damage. You can consult your optometrist in this regard and seek customized help to prevent photokeratitis. For this, you have to share your regular sun exposure routine and get suitable medical suggestions and advice accordingly. For people who work outdoors or play sports, it is always recommended to use UV-protected safety eyewear. Generally, there are some common prevention instructions that you can keep in mind for avoiding your eyes from getting sunburned. These are:

• Make sure to select sunglasses that are trusted to offer 100% UVB and UVA protection.
• It is advised to use a baseball cap or wide-
• brimmed hat when going outside.
• For water or snow sports always take the help of UV-blocking goggles.
• Make sure to coat your prescription glasses with suitable UV-blocking agents.
• You can also use UV-protected contact lenses.
• For prescription sunglasses, you can also consider using clip-on sunglass lenses.

Care for Eye Sunburn

What can you do if your eyes get sunburned? This is a common question that people ask who are suffering from sunburned eyes. The best advice in this regard is to seek medical help if you have pain or you are experiencing severe symptoms. There also are some at-home care tips that you can consider to deal with this problem. These include:

• Use ice packs or cold cloth over your eyes to help with the reduction of swelled eyes.
• Avoid wearing contact lenses and makeup for almost 1-2 days to avoid further eye irritation or complication.
• Visit an optometrist for medical help and use the prescribed antibiotics, gels, or drops.
• Make sure to avoid sun exposure and stay indoors for 24-48 hours.
• Do not scratch or rub your eyes aggressively to avoid further damage.

Conclusion

As soon as you experience irritation in your eyes make sure to avoid any further exposure to the UV radiation. You can use the above-mentioned at-home care tips as the first-aid treatment to deal with this condition. In case the symptoms worsen or the condition gets more severe, make sure to visit your optometrist as soon as possible. They are specialized and skilled medical professionals who will prescribe you with suitable antibiotic eye drops so that you don’t catch an infection. Moreover, they will also suggest the best artificial tears to avoid eye dryness and irritation by maintaining moisture conditions. Your optometrist will also guide you through the best practices that you can consider to avoid any further eye complications and damage.

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