Prevent UV Damage To Your Eyes

As a pilot one of the most important sensory assets I have are my eyes.

Protecting them from damage or injury becomes an important issue if I want to continue flying.

But protecting your eyes can be important even if you are not a pilot.

Looking at our Featured Image at the top of this post you can see the effects of UV radiation on our eyes.

While the cornea absorbs most of the uv radiation, the damage to the corneal epithelium is cumulative, similar to the effects of sunburn.

Unprotected Exposure To The Sun

Early in aviation history pilots discovered that their eyes need protection from the sun's rays.

As airplanes became more common and tools of the military the danger to pilot's eyes became more apparent.

Unprotected exposure of the eyes to the sun can lead to direct cornea injury and damage.

Our eyes are particularly sensitive to the effects of ultraviolet radiation, and are very susceptible to uv damage to eyes.

For example, even a very short exposure of our eyes to uv radiation can cause painful, but normally temporary conditions like conjunctivitis or photo keratitis.

Painful Conditions

These are painful conditions because they inflame the cornea of the eye, causing your eyes to water and to blur your vision.

Another disorder that can be caused by exposure to uv rays is flash burn, ground glass eyeball and snow blindness.

Add to that the fact that red sore eyes after a long day in bright sunlight and it can makes us very tired an ornery.

You are at risk of having your eyes injured or damaged by these harmful ultraviolet rays.

Our eyes are most sensitive to ultraviolet radiation in the 210nm to 320nm range, also known as UVB & UVC rays.

Those most at risk from uv radiation are anyone who flies airplanes, works, plays or spends a great deal of time outdoors.

Aviator Sunglasses As Essential Equipment

Sunglasses soon became essential to protecting your eyes.

Aviator sunglasses were developed especially to protect the eyes of aviators.

An excellent pair of aviator sunglasses that will absorb 98 to 100% of those harmful ultraviolet radiation rays are essential for anyone who spends a great deal of time outdoors.

Whether you are outdoors for work or pleasure uv rays from the sun are always working on your skin and eyes.

Over time, and with prolonged exposure to the sun, those uv rays will cause problems for your skin and eyes.

So always protect your eyes from uv radiation by wearing a quality pair of aviator sunglasses, not those cheap sunglasses you find in the aisles of pharmacies, malls and mega grocery stores.