gere

http://www.news.com.au/national/auss...-1225950539992

Aussies blinded to summer sun are unaware of eye protection says expert

SUN-drenched Aussies are blind to the level of protection that sunglasses provide.

Half of all adults don't always wear shades on sunny days, exposing themselves to potential eye damage, a survey reveals.

Experts say many consumers are unaware which sunglasses best suit their needs. Other people choose fashion ahead of fit, reducing protection from harmful UV rays.

Australia has strict sunglass laws designed to give adequate protection from ultraviolet radiation.

Sunglasses should meet the national standard (AS/NZS 1067) and carry a lens category number of two, three or four to indicate how much they cut glare.

Spectacles that are just fashion items, with low protection, cannot be labelled sunglasses.

Optometrists Association Australia professional services manager Shirley Loh said a higher price was no guide to the UV shield.

"People can get the same blockage paying $20 or $200, but durability of parts could be an issue," Ms Loh said.

But even if a pair of shades met minimum standards, wearers won't get good protection with a bad fit, such as lenses too small for their face.

Sunglasses reduced the risk of damage such as cataracts, a clouding of the lens inside the eye, and macular degeneration, a breakdown of central vision and a leading cause of blindness.

Pterygium, an overgrowth of tissue at the front of the eye, was another condition associated with UV damage that could develop in people as young as 20.

"Australia's high levels of UV can cause long-term and permanent harm to the health of your eyes. Because damage is cumulative, the choices you make now will affect you in the future," Ms Loh said.

The national poll, commissioned by OAA, found two in three people were unsure whether sunglasses gave 100 per cent UV blockage, and were unaware of specific health hazards.

The online survey of 1000 respondents revealed only half always wore their shades on sunny days and 7 per cent never wore protective lenses.

Ms Loh said lens categories 2 and 3 were suitable for everyday activities such as outdoor recreation, while outdoor workers and glare-sensitive people may need category 4.

Neutral grey tints tended to work better for older sunglasses wearers.

IndieG

Scary - noticed school children here don't wear sun glasses and they spend over an hour outside playing in the sun

jad n rich

Ive said it many times, and got the old reaction.

I cant myself go outside without sunnies, I find the sun blinding, its so intense.

Partner never used to wear sunnies and needed surgery couple of years back, the Doc just laughed at his enquiry as to the wait list on medicare for surgery, actual words were ' you will go blind waiting'. Got it done private it was $7000 odd, and I really cant remember what we got back on private health, but it wasnt too bad from memory.

Kids go to high school with 2200 kids, probably seen 6 at most ever wear sunnies, my son admits he wont wear them round the school, (piss taking) but puts them on as soon as hes free of the school zone. In primary they had to wear hats, not in high school, school says they cant enforce it, they will send them home for the wrong socks but not no hat.

Check out many of the kids in the higher levels of high school, already developing squint lines round eyes forehead at 16/17

IndieG

My daughter wears glasses, so plan to replace her lenses with those UV sensitive ones.

jothefw

Why can't they inforce it?

Madness!! Terms 1 and 4 all our school kids have to wear a proper "bucket" hat. If not they stay inside, simple. And actually it doesn't seem to be hard to make the kids wear their hats anyway.

All teaching staff wear hats too

Sunnies - I myself can't live without them, even on slightly cloudy days. Kids wear them too but not to school - it's hard to know where they could put them when in class - easy enough for girls (mines my hairband at the moment) but that's not a cool look for boys IMO (Mind you most the older boys need hairbands it seems

mpgrewal

All crap, a selling gimmick of Suncream and Sunglass companies. UV rays contain vitamin D which is necessary for human bones. However, only few days in summer you should be careful, when SPF is reported to be high.

IndieG

OK Dr Grewal

Seneca21

Yeah, it's really not crap - it's called science, you might have heard of it. It's where people a lot cleverer that you work for low pay to improve your health by doing research.

bcworld

Might be the case for you mpg - I can assure you it isn't for a lot of others.

Take a trip to Qld and have a look at the old folks - see for yourself.

Steve2009

I think a pinch of salt is required with all messages from vested interests but this has reminded me to go buy new sunnies. I have a scar on one of my eyes that makes me more vulnerable to damage, even though it's invisible.

Seneca21

BCWorld

Quite. Even in Australia I hear comments about how it's not hot today so it'll be all right to go out without suncream, which is the height of ignorance. Also, why is there no UV chart on the breakfast weather report? Why must I go online to find the info on the excellent BOM website? The education is better in Australia than in the UK, for obvious reasons, which is why there are more deaths fromthis in Britain than Australia, believe it or not, but it could be improved a great deal.

bcworld

Yes it's a common one, people equate the air temperature with how much sunscreen is required. Of course it could be 10C but if the sky is clear and it's January then the UV is extreme.

I actually do recall seeing UV indexes in summer on BBC weather forecasts, typically when they're starting to reach the dizzy heights of 7. Never on Aus weather though.

chris and farideh

you should come & say that to a young woman that I work with her Iris is damage & there is nothing can be done, but if she wore sun glasses she wouldn't have had this problem.
Or better still drop by in one of local hospital & have a chat with skin cancer patient that all these sun creams are gimmick.

Seneca21

The BBC has put UV in its reports but never as a standard procedure, like you say - only when it gets up to the dizzy heights of 7..... but in Australia it would be a very intelligent thing to do. It would help people manage the sun much more efficiently because there are too many variables for people to accurately guess it. People are not able to see ozone density with the naked eye, for example, but this will affect levels.

I really cannot understand why they don't put the UV on the breakfast weather report.

DeadVim

Here's a top tip, don't put them on top of the car while wrangling a kid out and drive away the next morning ... I am sunnyless at the moment and cricket is torture ...

I suspect if we hadn't got roofbars I would have noticed them, there should be a warning on them things:

"Important (Idiots Only) - Don't leave anything up here and drive away"