Did you know you can get a sunburn on your eyes? Here's why you need to take precautions

When Cathy Lumb was raising her children in the 1990s, she never thought much about protecting their eyes from the sun.

"It really was not talked about by doctors or anyone that I recall," she said. "They always wore a sun hat when we were out, but we didn't talk about sunglasses back then."

Now, it's a very different story. Lumb always has her prescription sunglasses when she heads out the door.

"Regardless of the season, all year, especially in winter," Lumb said. "I do a lot of running outdoors and when it's sunny and bright, I need my sunglasses."

Lumb has family history as an incentive: 25 years ago, her mother's eyesight began to falter and since then, she's also had to deal with cataracts and glaucoma.

A new grandparent, Lumb said eye health is a more common subject now.

"My daughter is aware of that for her little boy," she said.

While most people know to slap on sunscreen before heading outside, experts say there needs to be more education around making sure people protect their eyes, too.

Lisa Christian, an associate clinical professor at the University of Waterloo's School of Optometry and Vision Science, says exposure to UVA and UVB rays from the sun can cause a lot of damage to people's eyes.

That includes something called photokeratitis, which is essentially a sunburn on the eye, and it can be quite painful she said.

"You may notice that your eyes are red. It feels like something's in your eye, You're really extremely sensitive to light and you have a lot of tearing," Christian said.

"Thankfully, just like when we get a sunburn, it doesn't last forever. It is temporary. So we want to go ahead and avoid the sun when we're feeling those symptoms."

Ways to protect your eyes include sunglasses (wraparound ones are best), wide-brimmed hats and sitting in the shade.

Christian said people should look for sunglasses which have stickers stating 100 per cent UV protection or UV 400 are one way to verify you're purchasing a quality product.

"The quality is important, but it doesn't mean that the expensive designer sunglasses necessarily provide better UV protection than lower cost sunglasses," she said.

It's also important to protect your eyes to prevent long-term health issues, Christian added.

"The longer our eyes are exposed to UV radiation, the greater the risk of developing conditions such as cataract, which is the development of a cloudy area in the lens of our eye," she said.

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Exposure to UV rays is present on sunny and cloudy days. Henry Abna, 70, says he doesn't recall ever telling his children to wear sunglasses, but he did prioritize regular eye exams for the family.

"[Growing] up in the 60s and 70s, we weren't so concerned about protecting our eyes," he said.

Now, though, he says, "I always wear a hat, so that gives me shade."

Allison Scott, the president of the Canadian Association of Optometrists which has a membership of more than 6,000 optometrists, says getting a routine exam will help flag any early problems with sun damage.

"I'll say to my patients I want to see an issue before you," Scott said. "There are certain things over time that we look at for sun damage like cataracts or macular degeneration which can happen as we get older and can affect how we see."

She said it's also critical to get children to wear sunglasses, even though "I know some kids don't like wearing them."

Christian agrees and says children are vulnerable for a few different reasons.

"Children's eyes tend to have larger pupils and so more light is getting into the eye," she said. "Children's eyes are still developing so the lens in their eye is more transparent than those of adults, which means that the lens in their eye doesn't filter out as much UV radiation as effectively."

As well, children tend to spend more time outside, especially in the summer when they may be at camp, the playground or playing sports.

"That can lead to a higher cumulative exposure throughout their lives if they're not wearing proper protection for their eyes," she said.

"Too much sun over the years may speed up the damage ... which is why it's so important that we protect our eyes early because the harm from the UV rays can add up over time."