Spring and summer eye care is essential to your overall well-being as the temperatures rise. Keep these eye care tips top of your mind as eye problems that can flare up in summer.
Dry Eye Conditions
Dry eye conditions usually manifest as stinging, burning and irritation in the eyes, intermittent blurring of vision, and mild redness of eyes. Warm and dry weather can increase the tear evaporation rate causing dry eye. Failure to blink regularly while staring at computer or mobile screens for prolonged periods, chlorine exposure from swimming pool water, and dust particles in the air can contribute to this condition. Watery eyes are also a symptom of dry eye disease; treating the cause of dryness is important to prevent such symptoms.
What can you do?
Wear goggles while swimming as a high amount of chlorine is present in swimming pool water. While we all enjoy our pool time in summer, it’s important to protect our eyes from the harmful effects of chlorine by using protective goggles.
Eye Allergies
A change in weather usually aggravates all forms of allergies in spring and summer. Some of these allergic reactions affect our eyes too because of temperature change, dust, pollen grains, and particulate and non-particulate pollution. Allergic eye conditions usually manifest as redness, itching, irritation, and burning sensation of eyes.
What can you do?
Keeping eyes lubricated can help with dry eyes and eye irritation in summer. If you think you have dry eye symptoms, book a dry eye consultation with our clinician Becky.
Unprotected Exposure to Sunlight and UV Rays
Harsh sunlight increases the UV exposure to skin as well as eyes. Prolonged UV exposure can lead to conditions like photokeratitis and photoconjunctivitis. Long-term exposure to UV light has been implicated in various eye diseases like pterygium, an overgrowth of your conjunctiva tissue, increased risk of developing cataracts, and even eyelid cancers.
What can you do?
Wear oversized, protective, UV-A and UV-B blocking sunglasses, goggles when swimming, and hats, which help in preventing evaporation of tear film and reducing symptoms of dry eyes and allergic eye diseases. Hats additionally aid in protecting skin from UV exposure.
Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is the inflammation of the white portion of the eye (conjunctiva) either due to a virus or bacteria. An increase in cases of conjunctivitis is typically seen in the summer season. It presents as redness of eyes with a pricking sensation, sticky discharge, and watering. Conjunctivitis can spread through contact or sharing objects like handkerchiefs with an infected person.
Stye
A Stye is a red, painful swelling on the outside edge of the eyelids. Styes are very common in children. It is usually caused by a bacterial infection of glands present on the eyelid. It can be easily treated with the help of warm compresses and oral medications prescribed by an ophthalmologist.
What can you do?
Various allergies and infections are increasingly seen in summer. Especially with increased outdoor activities in children during summer holidays, it is vital to keep washing hands and face frequently to prevent these eye diseases.
Finally, adequate nutrition and hydration are always advised. Drinking plenty of water helps in preventing dehydration during summers. Fruits and vegetables with high antioxidants and carotenoids content like berries, orange, papaya, carrots etc. help in preventing oxidative damage caused by UV rays and maintaining healthy eyes.
