HEALTHWATCH
Healthy sight in every light
DR. NEEPA THACKER-DAVE
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Children are especially vulnerable to the damaging effects of UV light. Here’s how you can protect your child’s eyes?
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Photo: K. Pichumani
ENSURING a child’s health and happiness is a full-time vocation for parents. Though most parents ensure that their children do not spend time in the sun without the generous application of sun block to the skin, many unwittingly allow the child’s delicate eyes to go unprotected. Few parents are aware that their children’s eyes are highly susceptible to UV radiation.
Vulnerable
Children spend a lot of time outdoors and are especially vulnerable to the damaging effects of UV light, as their eyes are still developing.
The average child receives around three times the annual UV dose of the average adult and it is estimated that 80 per cent of total lifetime exposure to UV light occurs before the age of 18.
Sun exposure in childhood has been correlated to a higher incidence of cataracts and macular degeneration in later life. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that cataracts account for 16 million new cases of blindness worldwide annually. (20 per cent of these can be attributed to extended UV exposure).
Bright light or glare can affect vision by causing loss of visual performance or visibility and can lead to visual discomfort and eye fatigue.
Protection from distracting and disabling glare is essential to improve the quality of a child’s vision and help him/her perform daily tasks comfortably, both indoors and outdoors.
Protection options
The table explains the different types of glare and the options for glare protection for children.
Photochromic lenses made of polycarbonate (a high impact-resistant, shatterproof material) lens material are ideal for children. These lenses are lightweight and can be fitted to any frame.
Photochromic lenses automatically adjust to the level of UV light they are exposed to, going from exceptionally clear indoors to comfortably dark outdoors. Photochromic lenses help reduce the effects of glare and enhance visual quality and comfort.
It is never too early or too late to protect your children’s eyes not just on sunny days but cloudy ones too, when up to 80 per cent of UV rays can pass through, which makes all-year eye protection for children an absolute priority.
So for all year round eye protection from a single pair of spectacle lenses, photochromic lenses are the best option as they are a convenient and comfortable solution to healthy sight in every light.
The writer is a specialist in paediatric ophthalmology based in Mumbai.
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