As the skiing holiday season approaches, suncare expert Stefano Pietrini from GR8 Sunglasses is urging holidaymakers to be vigilant of the potential danger of Snow Blindness, an often underestimated condition.
Snow Blindness is a form of Photokeratitis that is caused by excessive exposure of the eyes to UV rays that reflect off ice and snow. This condition can lead to painful symptoms such as eye redness, headaches, blurry vision, tearing, and a sensation of having sand in the eyes. Prolonged exposure can result in more severe consequences, including temporary vision loss and eye cancer.
In order to avoid Snow Blindness, Stefano is urging skiers to wear goggles or glasses that block or absorb at least 99% of UV rays when spending time outdoors.
“Ski goggles are essential, as they will protect your eyes from UV damage and enable you to see better in all of the weather conditions you may face when skiing. Wearing goggles that have the correct tint will enable you to enjoy skiing for as long as you like without the risk of snow blindness, or long term damage such as cataracts. They also provide more protection than normal sunglasses, especially in the event of a crash or other accident.”
He’s also urging holidaymakers to continue wearing sunscreen when skiing or snowboarding, even if it is cloudy, as UV radiation can penetrate clouds.
“The combination of the higher altitude, reflection of UV rays on snow and UV radiation from the sun increase your risk of skin damage or sunburn”, he explains.
“Snow and ice are capable of reflecting up to 80% of UV radiation, increasing the amount that your skin is exposed to from every direction. When moving fast on skis, a snowboard or chairlifts you will feel cold and not notice the damage to your skin until it is too late.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the heat of the sun that causes skin damage, but the radiation that it emits.”
To keep themselves protected, Pietrini reminds holidaymakers that they should wear a sunscreen of at least SPF30 or higher on areas of exposed skin as well as trying to cover as much of their skin as possible:
“Sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours, and you will need to apply extra if you remove any layers of clothing. If you are worried about the resilience of sunscreen in wet, snowy conditions, there are specialist ski sunscreens available that are highly water resistant.”
