Should your child wear sunglasses?

Posted on 25 November 2015

You’ll be slathering the sunscreen on your kids this summer… but while you’re worrying about sunburned skin, are you giving any thought to their eyes?

Harmful ultra-violet (UV) rays from the sun can cause cumulative damage to your children’s eyes, leading to conditions and diseases like cataracts, macular degeneration (one of the top causes of blindness) and skin cancer of the eyelids and around the eyes.

The good news is research indicates that only a very small percentage of UV light from the atmosphere actually reaches the retina, with most of it absorbed at the cornea and lens. Those filters get stronger as you age, so while a 10-year-old typically has a 75% UV transmission rate through the lens, that rate drops to 10% by the age of 25.

And the bad news? About 80% of all the UV damage done to your eyes probably happens before you turn 18. Children’s eyes are highly sensitive and still developing, so they’re at the greatest risk of sun damage. So, to answer the question posed in the header of this article: yes, your kids should be wearing sunglasses!

Like many eye docs, Dr Erhardt Kidson, an ophthalmologist at Mediclinic Upington, is a big believer in children wearing sunglasses – ‘even from as young as six or seven years old,’ he says, ‘due to the enormous UV impact of the African sun on everybody’s eyes.’ When buying sunglasses for a young child, he advises that you look for UV-protective lenses, and – as any parent could tell you – look for durability. Spring hinges will help to keep the fit nice and snug, and they’re also more difficult for a child to snap and break. To avoid the risk of children hurting themselves, Dr Kidson recommends lenses made of a product called CR-39, which is softer than glass, and says your optometrist can advise about that. ‘Most importantly,’ Dr Kidson adds, ‘make sure the sunglasses are comfortable to wear, so your child actually wears them!’

Dr Kidson also lists three boxes to tick when buying glasses for yourself:
1. Don’t buy from some random vendor on the street. Most sunglasses available on the market are really good, so make sure you buy from a reputable retailer.
2. I’d advise that you get polarised sunglasses – except if you’re a pilot, because that might affect your depth perception.
3. Make sure your sunglasses offer 100% UV protection.

‘We know children’s eyes are the most sensitive, so I agree that you should start protecting them as early as possible,’ says Dr Handwi Bvumbi, an ophthalmologist at Mediclinic Limpopo. ‘I would recommend using sunglasses to protect young eyes from damage, for example pterygium.’ Commonly known as surfer’s eye, pterygium is a condition that causes a growth of pink, fleshy tissue on the white of the eye. It usually affects people who spend a lot of time outdoors, squinting into the bright sun. Like surfers… or kids who are out enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.