How To Protect Your Families From Ultraviolet Rays

With spring upon us, the days are getting longer and sunnier. With the diminishing protection of the ozone layer, ultraviolet rays cause much more damage than a generation ago. Adults Infants and children are more susceptible to UV damage because the lenses in their eyes are clearer. Make sure to protect your child's eyes by taking the following precautions:

• Teach your children to never look directly into or stare at the sun.
• To help ensure your children wear their sunglasses, allow them to select a style they like. Many manufacturers make frames with cartoon characters or multi-colored frames.
• Make sure your child wears a wide-brimmed hat or a baseball-cap, which provides some UV protection, if he/she will not tolerate sunglasses.
• Remind children to wear their sunglasses and hat even on cloudy days. Most of the sun's rays can come through the clouds on an overcast day. The sun's rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Keep children younger than 6-months-old out of direct sunlight. Choose the shade, a baby stroller with a canopy, or an umbrella when outside with a very young child or infant.
• Be sure to wear your sunglasses and hat when outside. Children often follow the example of their parents.
  
  
  (Source: American Academy of Ophthalmology)
  
  

  May 2002