Protection can be achieved by simple, safe and inexpensive methods such as wearing a brimmed hat and using eyewear that absorbs UV radiation. Clinical experience and evidence from accidents and experimental studies show that UV-B is more damaging, presumably because it has higher energy. Optimal sun protection should screen out both types of UV radiation. Ultraviolet radiation can play a contributory role in the development of various ocular disorders including cataract, pterygium, cancer of the skin around the eye, photokeratitis and corneal degenerative changes, and may contribute to age-related macular degeneration. Cataract is a major cause of visual impairment and blindness world-wide.
Cataracts are a cloudiness of the lens inside the eye which occurs over a period of many years.
Laboratory studies have implicated UV radiation as a causal factor for cataract. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have shown that certain types of cataract are associated with a history of higher exposure to UV, and especially UV-B radiation. Age-related macular degeneration is the major cause of reduced vision in Australia for people over the age of 55. Pterygium is a growth of tissue on the white of the eye that may extend onto the clear cornea where it can block vision. It is seen most commonly in people who work outdoors in the sun and wind, and its prevalence is related to the amount of UV exposure.