The Eyes Have It

This month is UV Safety Awareness Month, which makes a lot of sense, since the summer is when the UV rays are the most damaging. Unfortunately, the only way to get most of us to really pay attention to change our behavior is to scare us into taking action. So, here’s my scare tactic.

The Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), who just happens to have worked as a skin oncologist for many years, points out that skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, yet most cases are preventable. What???? You mean that the most commonly diagnosed cancer can be prevented without expensive medicine or operations? He also said that despite this fact, skin cancer rates continue to rise and that almost all of the conditions were caused by unnecessary ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure, usually from excessive time in the sun or from the use of indoor tanning devices. Did you know that almost one out of three young white women between 16 and 25 engaged in some sort of indoor tanning, like tanning booths? The sobering fact is that skin cancer causes 9,000 deaths each year.

OK, I hope you were astounded and maybe even scared a little about reducing your exposure to UV rays. All of us are probably bright enough to understand the ways we can protect ourselves from harmful UV rays, i.e., don’t expose your skin and eyes to direct sunlight. The simple fact is we can all take action to prevent skin cancer. You can read much more about ways to protect your skin in the Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer on the HHS website. I would, however, like to spend just a minute talking about sunscreen, an important tool in protecting our skin.

There’s a variety of ways we can apply sunscreen, but the best sunscreen is the one we apply regularly. There are some things to remember about sunscreen, the sun protection factor (SPF) is the amount of protection the sunscreen offers. An SPF of 15 means it would take 15 times longer to burn if you didn’t use that particular sunscreen. The higher the SPF the more protection you get. . . to a point. The CDC says that anything higher than SPF 50 offers only marginally more protection. Sunscreen labeled “Broad Spectrum” offers protection for both UVA rays and UVB rays. It is also important to know that no sunscreen is “waterproof;” if you go in the water, you should periodically reapply your sunscreen.

You’ve probably been wondering about the title of the blog, “The Eyes Have It” When I learned more about UV Safety Awareness Month I realized I had always thought about protecting my skin and hadn’t thought much about the importance of protecting my eyes from harmful UV rays. Exposing your eyes to UV rays heightens the risk of developing cataracts, macular degeneration, and growths on the eye including cancer.

Here are some tips from the American Academy of Ophthalmology:

• Don’t focus on color or darkness of sunglass lenses: Select sunglasses that block UV rays. Don’t be deceived by color or cost. The ability to block UV light is not dependent on the price tag or how dark the sunglass lenses are.
• Check for 100 percent UV protection: Make sure your sunglasses block 100 percent of UVA rays and UVB rays.
• Choose wrap-around styles: Ideally, your sunglasses should wrap all the way around to your temples, so the sun’s rays can’t enter from the side.
• Wear a hat: In addition to your sunglasses, wear a broad-brimmed hat to protect your eyes.
• Don’t rely on contact lenses: Even if you wear contact lenses with UV protection, remember your sunglasses.
• Don’t be fooled by clouds: The sun’s rays can pass through haze and thin clouds. Sun damage to eyes can occur anytime during the year, not just in the summertime.
• Protect your eyes during peak sun times: Sunglasses should be worn whenever outside, and it’s especially important to wear sunglasses in the early afternoon and at higher altitudes, where UV light is more intense.
• Never look directly at the sun. Looking directly at the sun at any time, including during an eclipse, can lead to solar retinopathy, damage to the eye’s retina from solar radiation.
• Don’t forget the kids: Everyone is at risk, including children. Protect their eyes with hats and sunglasses. In addition, try to keep children out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s UV rays are the strongest.

As a golfer I haven’t paid enough attention to protecting both my skin and especially my eyes from harmful UV rays. I got sufficiently scared when I read about skin and eye diseases that are preventable and I’ve vowed to do better. I hope you have also decided to take the action necessary to protect yourself from these cancer-inducing UV rays.

Best, Thair