Children need sunglasses

News release from Visique Optometrists
8 February 2007

Children need sunglasses

Optometrists are alerting parents to the need to protect their children's eyesight in the sun this summer.

Members of the Visique Optometrists group will be providing a free pair of sunglasses to five-year-old new entrant children around New Zealand when they start school this month.

Kevin O'Connor, of Visique CapitalEyes in Wellington, says the campaign aims to raise awareness of the need for children to wear eye protection. UV exposure can lead to cataracts and macular degeneration, which are leading causes of blindness later in life, as well as pterygia and cancer. Children can be more susceptible to damage as their lenses are clearer, which allows more UV light through the eye.

"The most important reason a child's eyes need protection is that almost all the damage occurs over a long period of exposure, slowly and painlessly. When you consider a person has 70+ years of UV exposure in a lifetime, they need to be protected early from that exposure, so that these problems are delayed as long as possible."

The wearing of sunhats and sunscreen is well understood by New Zealand parents. Mr O'Connor says there is less acceptance of the need for sunglasses in addition to a sunhat.

"I think most parents see sunglasses as stopping glare, so if the child doesn't complain of the bright light then why bother with another hassle, like wearing sunglasses? Probably most people see sunglasses as a fashion or comfort item, rather than as UV protection, which is what we need them for."

To provide adequate protection, sunglasses should have dark lenses that wrap around the eyes and block 99-100% of UVA and UVB.

ENDS

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