Everybody wants celebrity-like dazzling eyes that command attention. As they say, eyes are the window to the soul. Unfortunately many of us neglect our eyes and let the elements take their toll on them.
Seasonal climate involving cold air, chilly winds and bright sunshine can make your eyes dry, itchy and sore. Sunlight can also increase the long-term risk of developing conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration and skin cancer of the eyelids.* Follow these simple tips to protect your eyes this summer:
1. Drink plenty of water to keep your skin and eyes hydrated, a minimum of 2 litres per day is recommended.
2. Include healthynutrients to your diet, such as fish oil, black current seed oil and fresh flax oil to treat dry eyes. Also avoid alcohol and caffeine, which dehydrate the body.
3. Moisturise and soothe your eyes with lubricating drops. Rose water is a highly effective, natural lubricant that can be readily purchased.
4. Use a good quality eye cream and keep an eye out (ha!) for the following ingredients:
- Vitamin E can soothe and protect your eye area.
- Vitamin C can improve collagen production and skin elasticity.
- Vitamin K can plump up the under eye area, decrease dark circles and renew sun damaged skin.
5. Use a cooling eye pack, before going to bed to treat puffy eyes and dark circles.
6. Go glam with large sunglasses that must block out 99% of Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. I recommend wraparound sunglasses, to prevent the sun’s rays from entering from the sides.
Remember sunglasses are not just for the summer! UV damage can even occur on cloudy days. If you’re out in the snow on a bright, sunny day with no eye protection, your eyes can actually suffer from snow blindness – when the corneas become extremely irritated resulting in pain, tearing and light sensitivity. So keep a pair of sunglasses at hand whenever you’re out. to check when and where it’s going to snow heavily, check our snowfall charts for global ski resorts.
7. Wear swimming goggles to protect your eyes from chlorinated or salt water. Swimming goggles can be bought in different prescriptions to satisfy your individual needs. Our water temperature index can be found
8. Your eyes deserve some tender love and care – So do remember to get them checked annually!
*To check the levels of wind and sunlight you may be exposed to on a daily basis, check out these wind flow charts and cloud/ sunlight charts for your area.
