People are generally aware of damages of the UV radiation on their skin but they often don’t know how harmful they are to their eyes. Contrary to other parts of your body, damage caused by harmful UV radiation to your eyes can never be reversed, it is cumulative, and can create a number of eye diseases.

The sun emits three kind of ultraviolet radiations, depending of their wavelengths: UVA, UVB and UVC. These radiations are not visible to the human eye but can have disastrous effects on the human body. UVA comprises approximately 95% of the UV energy reaching the earth’s surface, is responsible for sun tanning but also skin aging and can cause eye damages, especially in children. UVB only reaches our epidermis of the skin as it is only partially blocked and is able to causes sunburns, blistering, skin cancers and eye damages. UVC is the most harmful radiation but it is filtered by the ozone layer.

The effects of UV radiations are more damaging in summer than winter. However, contrary to the popular belief, maximum exposure to UV occurs at unlikely times and it is relatively unaffected by cloud, making protection important all year round.

Moreover, make sure that children have a good eye protection, especially if they are under ten. Children are especially vulnerable to the sun’s damaging rays. Cumulative exposure can accelerate serious eye disorders and pose risks to their eye health as their eyes are not able to filter the sun’s UV rays.