Expert Kerril Hickey explains why it’s crucial for our children to wear sunglasses

It's never too early to protect your child's vision.

The sun’s UV rays can cause serious damage to our eyes, and if exposed to them for prolonged periods of time, the damage can often be irreversible. Long-term exposure to harmful UV rays from the sun can increase the risk of developing cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and a common type of skin cancer called cell carcinoma in anyone, regardless of your health. Children’s, eyes let in more light than adult’s, due to their large pupils and clear lenses, which means that a significant proportion of our eyes’ lifetime exposure to UV occurs when we are young. However, it isn’t only the warm weather and beaming sun in warmer countries that cause damage, even a cloudy day in Ireland can cause harm to eyes, especially children. Sun cream is important for protecting our skin, and ensuring you apply it to your eyelids will give some protection, however, it’s vital our eyes are protected with sunglasses in order to avoid direct UV damage and to maintain good eye health. UV damage can come in many different forms, for both adults and children, and whether long term or short team, can compromise good eye health. Kerril Hickey, Specsavers Ireland chairman and optician, explains why protective eyewear is crucial for young children;

"Children should be wearing sunglasses from the age of three. It’s important that their eyes are protected from this age to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays. ‘If children are not protected from an early age, the UV radiation from the sun can cause cell damage, which will put them at a higher risk of complications later down the line."

There are several conditions caused by UV exposure which include: Photokeratitis: Also known as sunburn of the eyes or ‘snow blindless’, which can cause vision loss for up to 48 hours Cataracts (most often found in adults): Progressive clouding of the eye lens (the part of the eye that focuses on light) which can cause slow vision loss Age-related macular degeneration: UV rays can damage the retina of the eye, which can lead to age-related blindness in addition to increasing your risk of macular degeneration, which is the progressive loss of total vision Skin cancer: Of the eyelids and eyeballs When purchasing sunglasses, it’s crucial that they have adequate UV protection, as some fashion glasses don’t offer this. Wearing UV blocking glasses regularly can help prevent long term damage so it's important to ask your optician which would be the best glasses for your child.