How the Sun Can Damage a Babies Eyes
We are all susceptible to the effects of UV radiation and the most common source is from the sun. If you spend a prolonged amount of time outside, you need to wear sunscreen and sunglasses to help protect your eyes and skin from the sun’s UV rays. Even when the sun isn’t out in full force, it’s still important to take precautionary measures to protect ourselves.
Babies and young children are even more susceptible to the effects of UV radiation. Their bodies are underdeveloped compared to our own, meaning it’s important to protect them from being burned by UV radiation.
Even if you think they’re being hidden by an umbrella or a pram, the UV rays can still be reflected off many materials and still reach your child.
“Around 80% of your lifetime exposure to UV is received before the age of 18.”
According to the World Health Organization, around 80% of your lifetime exposure to UV is received before the age of 18. This goes to show just how important it is to protect our children, especially when it comes to their eyes.
How do UV rays affect a baby’s eyes?
Our baby has much larger pupils and clearer lenses than we do. This allows more UV light to reach the retina of a baby than for an adult. In fact, it’s estimated that a baby’s eye can absorb up to 70% more UV light than our eyes.
This harmful exposure to UV radiation can cause inflammation of the cornea and the conjunctiva in the eye. This increases the risk of your child developing a cataract, a cloudy patch in the lens of their eye. These patches can grow in size, causing blurry vision and eventually blindness if left unchecked.
Cataracts usually affect adults as they are the result of age-related conditions. Some babies can also be born with cataracts. However, it’s most common for someone to develop cataracts and it can happen due to exposure to UV light. As such, it’s important to be careful about how you protect your baby whenever you take them outside.
Children love to brave the great outdoors, and they love to play around in the garden, so it’s vital that you find a way to protect them from UV exposure at an early age.
The best way to protect babies eyes from UV rays
Typically sunglasses from a cheap store or fashion retailer likely won’t block out 100% of the sun’s UV rays, making them ultimately useless. The sunglasses also need to fit correctly to ensure it protects our baby’s eyes.
The easiest way is to ensure they wear a pair of 100% UV-blocking sunglasses designed specifically for children. These are comfortable to wear and will provide peace of mind thanks to their UV-blocking properties. Henrays Eyewear has been developed based on research, and designed to protect a child’s eyes 100% from UV rays.
When looking for sunglasses for your baby, it’s important to look for compliance such as EN ISO 12312-1, AS/NZS 1067.1:2016 or CE (Conformité Européenne). If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate to get in touch today for more information.