The sun produces ultraviolet (UV) light that is well known for causing sunburned skin. Damage to the eyes often gets second-class status in discussions on tissue damage from the sun. The immediate and visible effect of skin damage often overshadows the more long term damage and disease that UV-light can cause in the eyes.
Cancer
According to the National Institutes of Health, cancer of the eye is uncommon. Cancer can act on the skin of the eyelid or tissue surrounding they eye, as with typical skin cancers. Additionally, cancer can form inside the actual eyeball, a condition known as intraocular cancer. The UV light from the sun can result in damage to the deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, in the cells of the eyeball. Damaging certain genes in the DNA results in uncontrolled cell growth in the eyeball. Similar damage may occur in the cells of the skin surrounding the eye. Cancer of the eye can also occur from the spread of cancer from other locations in the body to the eyeball or surrounding tissue.
Cataracts
Cataracts resulting from UV light is a chronic condition that causes blurriness of vision. Cataracts affects the lens of the eye by creating a cloudy sheen. Often, elderly people who have years of built-up UV-damage on their eyes suffer from cataracts. The website Allaboutvision.com recognizes three types of cataracts: subcapsular cataracts, nuclear cataracts and cortical cataracts. Cataract surgery is often successful, and with minimal side effects. When side effects do occur after cataract surgery, they are usually treated successfully, notes the Mayo Clinic.
Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration comes in two types: wet and dry. In the dry version, risk factors such as prolonged exposure to UV light may result in, according to American Optometric Association, a degeneration of the macula in the back of the eye ball. Dry macular degeneration is less damaging to vision than wet macular degeneration, but treatment options are limited. No surgical options for the dry version currently exist, and treatment options include training the patient to effectively use their remaining peripheral vision. The wet form, which may arise directly from the UV-caused dry form, results in an abnormal growth of blood vessels behind the macula in the eye. Ultimately, the wet form has the potential to cause more damage to vision in the patient than does the dry form. However, the wet form of macular degeneration has a wider range of treatment options. The Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute indicates that photodynamic therapy and laser therapy can improve vision in patients with macular degeneration.
