> I'm about as "Baby Boomer" as you can get - turned 51 last April. When I
> was in the Air Force in 1966, they gave me a pair of eyeglasses and said
I
> would need to wear them the rest of my life. After three months, I
through
> them away. I read constantly, spend most of my time in front of a 17"er
> set at 1024x768, and never have headaches. I do wear "blue-blocking" (or
> UV blocking) sunglasses *anytime* I go outside, though. I really believe
> that UV causes more eye problems than aging.
>
> Tom Fosson
There IS a lot of hype about UV in the media lately, some of which is
undoubtedly at least partially true. I think the main concern is that the
increased UV exposure we're all getting with the ozone layer depletion will
cause premature cataract formation.
We will ALL get cataracts if we're around long enough. The internal lens in
the eye is always growing throughout our lives (and this is what causes
presbyopia - as the lens thickens, it tends to lose elasticity, and thus it
becomes harder to change the lens shape, and accommodate, or at least this
is the predominant theory!). the "arms too short" syndrome usually affects
caucasians around age 43 or so.
Eventually, as the lens thickens, by your late 70's or early 80's, it's
getting so thick that it gets a little hazy.
It's important to remember that this extra UV exposure is a CUMULATIVE
thing. Thus, somebody who's say 40 or older will have less total increased
exposure by the time they reach 70 than say somebody who's 20 now. So, I
don't think all the angst is justified. Now, you should know that any old
plastic or glass lens is going to block maybe 80% of the UV anyhow, so
you're pretty safe if you wear specs full time.
Having 100% UV protection in your specs is only about $10 extra, so in this
case it's relatively cheap piece of mind if you're at all concerned about
this. Quite a few contact lenses are also now available with UV blocking as
well.
People that have to be most concerned with this are people with herpetic
ocular infections, corneal erosion history, people taking certain meds such
as tetracycline for acne, syphilis sufferers (hopefully not too many of
those on the list!), etc.
Just FYI...
Dr. Steve Briggs
www.stevebriggs.com
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