Kids need sunglasses too! Especially on the mountains

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 568, 28 December 1994, Page 7

Kids need sunglasses too! Especially on the mountains

Children of the 90s are no doubt encouraged to wear hats and sunblock for protection from the sun's harmful ultra violet radiation says the New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO). However, the NZAO is concemed that it is rare to see children wearing sunglasses. Spokesperson for the NZAO, optometrist John McLennan, says that ultraviolet radiation — the same radiation which causes sun burn and skin cancer — also causes damage to the eyes. "The most acute form of this is snowblindness which can be very painful, but there is also a more gradual form of damage to the eyes which can accumulate with years TURNTOPAGE8

Kids & sunglasses

FROM PAGE 7 spent exposed to the sun's rays," Mr McLennan says. "A child' s eye is much rriore transparent than that of an adult, therefore more light is able to enter and with it more harmful radiation." Most commonly, sunglasses are first wom during the teenage years but optometrists warn that this may be too late and believe that parents should be encouraging their children to wear sunglasses from an early age whenever there is exposure to sunlight. "It is now possible to purchase inexpensive children' s sunglasses which still absorb ultraviolet radiation and your optometrist can advise you on what type to buy," says John McLennan. "However, it should always be remembered that even with good sunglasses, looking directly at the sun is dangerous."