FORCE FIELD: ENGAGED

Realistically, how much of a problem is the sun’s glare for our eyes and how much worse does it become when combined with water?

The core risk to eye health is from UV radiation. Most of us are aware that the sun’s ultraviolet rays are completely invisible yet damage the skin and can lead to sunburn and skin cancer. It’s why we use sunscreen to block out these harmful rays. The eyes and the skin around the eyes can also be damaged by exposure to UV radiation. It’s the main (but not only) reason we wear sunglasses.

‘Glare’ (or reflections of visible light (and UV) from a surface like water), is something very different. It is the loss of visual performance when too much visible light enters the eyes and they are unable to adequately manage the intensity. Glare can be extremely uncomfortable, quickly leading to irritation (redness and dryness) and eye fatigue. This discomfort is not necessarily caused by UV radiation though. While basic UV blocking sunglasses might strip out the invisible UV rays, they will not do anything to combat the intensity of the visible light which we perceive as glare.

This is where the other reason