Your favorite sunglasses are more than just a fashion statement – they also protect your eyes from sunburn.
Dana Galiano, 47, of New Jersey, suffered photokeratitis — the clinical term for sunburn on the cornea — in both eyes during a family beach trip to Ocean City in July. She believes the burns are responsible for affecting her short-range vision.
The woman did not wear sunglasses on this trip and when she got home she felt a burning sensation in her eyes as if sand had been blown into them.
She is no longer in pain and her vision has not deteriorated drastically over the long term, although she finds that she needs her glasses more often than ever.
Doctors strongly advise wearing sunglasses when outdoors and avoiding direct exposure to the sun, as it emits harmful UVA and UVB rays, which over time can lead to cataracts and eyelid cancer.
Ms Dana Galiano, a New Jersey native who works in sales at a statewide mortgage lender, told DailyMail.com that she used to not wear sunglasses often
Ms Galiano said the small brown spot on her eye soon felt a burning sensation in her eye
After a long day at the beach in New Jersey, she experienced discomfort in her eyes, which subsided after a few hours. She was told that the small brown spot on her eye was a remnant of the sunburn there
“I don’t always wear sunglasses in the sun and I felt almost like a sting in the eye, not like an allergy or anything else, but a real sting in the eye,” Ms Galiano told DailyMail.com.
“And I didn’t think anything of it… I noticed I had a spot on my eye, didn’t I?” But I didn’t know what it was.’
The Jersey native spent a long day at the beach reading an issue of Us Weekly last summer and was in pain when she returned home.
She said, “After feeling like this, I closed my eyes, put a towel over my face, and then when I got home from the beach, I just rinsed my face with water.” And my eye wasn’t red or anything , but it still kind of hurt.’
At first it felt as if grains of sand had flown into her eye and caused a strong burning sensation. It turned out that she had a sunburn in her right eye.
One of the main symptoms of photokeratitis is the grittiness of the eyes, which can be confused with deposits there.
“I even said to my mom, ‘Can you look me in the eye? Do I have sand in my eyes? Like I don’t know what that is because my eye wasn’t red or anything,'” she continued.
“That’s the crazy thing about it, there was nothing in my eye and I flushed it out with water,” she said.
After a few hours and a dose of Motrin, the pain finally subsided.
Still, she saw a spot on her right eye that hadn’t been there before. But as a self-proclaimed hesitant when it comes to check-ups, she ignored this.
The following weekend, after a day at the beach, the same thing happened to her left eye and she left another stain, Dana went to see a doctor.
She said, “Lo and behold, I go to the doctor and they said you have a sunburn in your eye and it’s permanent.” And they asked how often you wear sunglasses. And I think I wear them sometimes, but not all the time.
“I’ve never worn sunglasses in my entire life when out in the sun. I just don’t do it. So you mean you have a burn, a permanent burn on your eye. And you can no longer go without wearing sunglasses.
‘[The doctor] said it would only get worse. And it will actually affect your eyesight. Right now I can see the spot on my eye, but over time, she said, if I don’t wear sunglasses, it would get bigger and then I won’t be able to see anymore.’
Although she is no longer in pain, Dana had to get glasses because of her farsightedness.
Photokeratitis does not usually affect vision in the long term, and Dana acknowledged that her doctors could not say with certainty that her increased need to wear glasses was a direct result.
She initially thought the loss of her sight was a sign of aging, but her doctor told her that the permanent burn could certainly affect her vision.
Dana said, “She didn’t say that the stinging in your eye is 100 percent why you need stronger glasses now.” I used to only use them at night for driving, but now I need glasses every day carry, look at my computer and drive a car.
‘The [damage is] a part of it. Because whenever you have any kind of damage or something in your eye, like your cornea, it affects your vision.”
according to dr Jeff Dello Russo, an ophthalmologist specializing in laser eye surgery in New York and New Jersey, permanent vision damage from photokeratitis is rare, but not uncommon.
dr Dello Russo told DailyMail.com: “It mostly happens, you can just see it over a very long period of time, not like an isolated incident in the sun, but it’s possible.”
“You can have photokeratitis with no visible signs other than your eyes being red and irritated, which they are in most cases.” Such a physical sign is less common.”
The condition is caused by the sun’s rays reflecting off water, sand or snow, and is particularly common in winter sports enthusiasts who spend a lot of time at high altitudes, where the air is thinner and offers less protection from UV rays.
It is not known how common or rare the condition is as it can be confused with eyestrain, dry eyes or debris in the eyes.
dr Dello Russo said, “I don’t think there’s a real incidence report on how common it is.”
Ms. Galiano has spent a large part of her life in the sun, including at work. As the director of the National Mortgage Insurance Corporation, she conducts much of her business out on the golf course.
Other symptoms of photokeratitis include redness, pain and swelling, tearing, blurred vision, eyelid twitching, sensitivity to light, a gritty sensation in the eye, and inflammation of the conjunctiva, or the lining that protects the eye.
Photokeratitis usually lasts less than a few days and permanent damage is rare, but over time, repeated cases of photokeratitis can increase the risk of long-term eye damage. For example, 10 percent of cataract cases are due to excessive exposure to UV rays.
Dana is now an avid wearer of polarized sunglasses, she said, and urges her two daughters, ages 15 and 18, to wear them whenever they’re exposed to UV rays.
She said her eyes are now the “top priority.” It is my vision because those are my only eyes.”
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