While ocular UVR protection is necessary for everyone, UVR protection for the child’s eyes is crucial.
It has been estimated that the average child receives three times the annual UVR exposure of an adult. It is this cumulative UVR exposure over years that has been linked to such vision-threatening diseases as cataract and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This means that UVR protection must start early in life to be most effective.
Further, children’s eyes are more susceptible than older eyes to potential UVR-related damage. The clear crystalline lens of the child under age 10 transmits more than 75% of incident UVR, compared to only 10% at age 30.
Despite their heightened need, many children are not adequately protected from UVR. Vision wear in the form of eyeglass lenses that block UVR represents the most convenient and effective modality to protect the eyes. However, only 16% of children under age 18 wear prescription eyeglasses, compared to approximately 57% of adults. This means that the segment of the population most susceptible to ocular damage from UVR is least likely to be adequately protected from it.
The Importance of Quality of Vision for the Pediatric Patient Is Often Overlooked
Children tend to spend more time outdoors than adults, and they tend to move with greater frequency between indoor and outdoor environments. For these reasons, protection from glare and the maintenance of contrast sensitivity in the face of differing levels of illumination are particularly important for children. Nevertheless, even in children who routinely wear prescription eyeglasses for vision correction, eyeglass lens enhancements (including fixed tint sunglasses, photochromic lenses, antireflective (AR) coatings, and polarizing lenses) are seldom prescribed. For example, while an estimated 52% of adults who wear prescription eyeglasses also wear prescription sunglasses (34%) or glasses with photochromic lenses (18%), only 11% of children who wear prescription eyeglasses wear any type of prescription sunwear (7% prescription sunglasses and 4% photochromic lenses).
Protecting Children From Ocular Injuries
In the United States alone, approximately 40,000 sports-related ocular injuries occur each year. Of these injuries, 43% occur in children under 15 years old. It has been estimated that 90% of these ocular injuries could be avoided with the use of appropriate sports-protective eyewear, but only about 15% of children use eye protection for sports.
To learn more about protection from eye injury in recreational activities, click here.
Parents should be counseled on the absolute need for the regular and consistent use of protective eyewear in all children engaged in contact sports and sports where eye injury is a known potential hazard. This includes those who do not require prescription vision wear for refractive correction. In many places, recommendations for the routine use of protective eyewear are mandated; where this isn’t the case, the vision care professional should consider taking the lead in campaigning for such regulations in children.