Can your eyes get sunburned

Symptoms include:. In rare cases, you may also experience temporary color changes in your vision. A doctor can diagnose photokeratitis by asking about your recent activities, examining yours eyes, and using an eye drop with fluorescein dye to look for UV damage.

Photokeratitis and snow blindness usually go away on their own, so treatment is focused on making you feel better as your eyes heal. If you wear contact lenses , remove them immediately. Get out of the sun and into a dark room. For relief, you may try:.

Photokeratitis may be prevented by wearing eye protection that blocks UV radiation. This includes:. About Foundation Museum of the Eye. What is Photokeratitis — Including Snow Blindness? By Daniel Porter. What causes photokeratitis? Snow blindness: a common form of photokeratitis Snow blindness is a form of photokeratitis that is caused by UV rays reflected off ice and snow. What are symptoms of photokeratitis? Symptoms include: pain redness blurriness tearing gritty feeling swelling sensitivity to bright light headache seeing halos small pupils eyelid twitching rarely, temporary vision loss In rare cases, you may also experience temporary color changes in your vision.

If you feel as though your eyes may have been sunburned, refer to the following list of symptoms. However, we highly recommend visiting your local eye doctor to receive a thorough examination. Please keep in mind that these symptoms should be temporary.

If it persists longer than this time, make an appointment with your eye doctor to have your eyes evaluated. Sunburned eyes typically heal on their own, but there are several methods you should consider to further aid the healing process.

First, you should avoid rubbing your eyes. Doing so will cause even greater damage and may lead to more severe eye conditions. Instead of rubbing them, try placing a cool and damp towel over your closed eyes. But there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about sunburn every day of the year, and not just when it comes to your skin. The threat of sunburn exists all year long — in winter as well as during the summer, on sunny days and even when there is plenty of cloud cover.

Here are the things you need to know about protecting your eyes from the sun. When overexposed to UV rays, there are several parts of the eye that can be affected and inflamed, causing painful symptoms. The resulting eye damage can be temporary or more long-lasting, and can even lead to major eye diseases, including cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and even cancer of the eyelid.

Although rare, photokeratitis can even cause temporary vision loss or color vision loss. There are a few scenarios when you and your family members may be more at risk for sunburning their eyes. Playing outside: Kids love to play outdoors, and they may not wear sunglasses when hitting the park, playground, or even the backyard. The same goes for water play: The risk of sunburn for kids and adults increases in the pool or lake which reflects UV light back into the eyes.

Snow days: A day skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, or participating in another winter sport can put your eyes at risk. Snow blindness, a rare form of photokeratitis, can occur when UV radiation is reflected by snow and ice. Visiting a tanning salon: Tanning beds are popular throughout the year, but especially in the colder months for those living at higher latitudes.

The ultraviolet light emitted by tanning beds can be extremely hurtful to your eyes.