Old, young, RDF, sun — doesn't matter, wear those shades
Optometrist in St. John's warns kid's eyes especially vulnerable to UV light
While you don't have to follow Corey Hart's lead and wear them at night, one optometrist is urging people to don their sunglasses much more often.
"When the UV index is high, it's the most important time to protect your eyes," said Dr. Jennifer Swyers, an optometrist with St. John's Optometry.
"However, UV light can pass through the clouds, so even on a grey or overcast day, it's good to protect your eyes from the UV index."
Swyers says most people reach for their shades when the sun is squint-worthy, but sun damage isn't contained to the summertime.
"So if you spend a lot of time in the snow – snowshoeing, skiing or shovelling – it's a good idea to protect your eyes from the sun because the snow bounces the UV light back into your eyes, it reflects off of the snow," she told CBC Radio's On the Go.
Protect those peepers
Swyers said people might be familiar with certain conditions associated with UV damage, like melanoma or macular degeneration.
She said cataracts, another ailment, are caused by aging, but they can be helped along in some cases.
"If you spend a lot of time in the sun and [with] a couple other risk factors, like if you have diabetes or if you're a smoker, then cataracts may occur at an earlier onset than they would typically with just regular aging."
Swyers said another major concern is solar retinopathy — and its cringe-worthy description is the least of someone's problems if it develops.
"It's like a blister under your retina that occurs if you were to stare at the sun for a long time ... It will cause permanent vision damage for sure," she said.
When choosing sunglasses, Swyers says to consider more than just the brand name and price.
"The amount of UV protection is not necessarily correlated with the amount that you pay for your sunglasses. It doesn't necessarily matter what colour your lenses are or how dark they are, what really matters is that the sunglasses state they protect against UV light," she said.
The future's so bright, kids gotta wear shades
Swyers said it's almost more important for kids to wear sunglasses on a regular basis than adults.
"It's estimated that people get 80 per cent of their lifetime UV exposure before age 18, and children's eyes are not as good at filtering UV light as what adults' eyes are," Swyers said.
"It's super important to protect your eyes as much as you can as a child so that you'll have less problems later on in life."
With files from On the Go