You don’t often think about it: going on a winter sports holiday and suffering from sunburn. The eyes are extra sensitive to harmful UV radiation. This is most common during winter sports because snow reflects much more sunlight than, for example, sand. But a burning sensation in the eyes can also occur in summer. We also talk about snow blindness or welder’s eyes. Symptoms include eye pain, redness, sensitivity to light and red eyes. There is a corneal inflammation. The doctor can prescribe eye drops, but treatment is often not necessary.
What is snow blindness?
Snow blindness falls under the welder’s eye. A welding eye is damage to the cornea of the eye. In the past, this was mainly caused by welding without glasses. Welding involves joining materials using heat or pressure, causing the material to melt and join together. Harmful UV rays are released during welding. These can damage the cornea of the eye. That is why it is always advisable to weld with welding goggles, but better yet with a protective mask. The name welding eye therefore comes from damage that used to be caused mainly by unprotected welding.
A welding eye can also have another cause. In any case, it concerns harmful UV radiation that enters the eye. Snow blindness also falls under welding eye.
Winter sports
Most people contract snow blindness during winter sports. We are increasingly going on winter sports in the form of a holiday. This mainly concerns recreational sports in the snow. This includes skiing, cross-country skiing, racing with sled dogs or sled horses, bobsledding, snowboarding and ski jumping. In a smaller number of cases it concerns competitive sport, but no holiday is required for this.
Cause: UV radiation
As previously described, snow blindness is caused by harmful UV radiation. The sun emits ultraviolet (UV) light in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The human eye cannot detect ultraviolet light. The lens of the eye does not transmit ultraviolet light, protecting the retina. The cornea is the transparent outer layer that covers the eyeball. This protective membrane is 0.5 mm thick and consists of five layers. The outer layer is quickly replaceable because the epithelial cells can renew quickly. The cornea is completely transparent so that light can easily enter through the eye. There are no blood vessels through the cornea, but nerves are connected to it.
Ultraviolet radiation is known for its burning effect on the skin when we sunbathe. But the cornea can also be burned by ultraviolet radiation. Snow blindness is also referred to as a mild burning of the eye. This causes corneal inflammation. Snow reflects 90 percent of UV radiation, sand only 50 percent. This is also the reason that snow blindness/welding eye is more likely to occur due to winter sports than due to a beach holiday.
Symptoms and complaints
The first complaints occur after half an hour to 6 hours. So snow blindness is not immediately noticeable. This partly depends on the strength of the UV radiation, the amount and the duration with which the eyes are exposed to it. Pain occurs in the eye that can be experienced as very painful. Sometimes it is barely possible to see with your eyes. There is an increased sensitivity to light. Looking directly into the light is impossible, but normal light is also poorly tolerated.
Furthermore, the eyes will often water and look red. The red color is caused by the vessels dilating. The tearing is caused by the irritation. The feeling that there is a grain of sand in the eye is usually present.
Treatment and recovery
In general, snow blindness heals on its own. Most complaints disappear after two to three days. Sometimes eye drops are prescribed. These ensure that the pain decreases. A home remedy is to use slices of raw potato and place them on the eyes. This removes the burning sensation from the eyes. Lying in a dark room with a wet cloth on your eyes usually brings relief. The eye is not touched by the cloth. This also applies to other home remedies.
The doctor will prescribe an antibiotic or anti-inflammatory if it appears that the inflammation is more advanced. In this case this will consist of an eye ointment. In severe cases, when the eyes come into frequent contact with UV radiation, cataracts can develop. It is therefore important to always protect the eyes against UV radiation with sunglasses or protective glasses/mask. Sunglasses or blackout ski goggles are also worn during winter sports. This may sound strange because it is winter after all, but snow reflects the sun much more strongly than other materials.
Children’s eyes are extra sensitive to harmful UV radiation. This is because their pupils are proportionately larger. Children should also wear good sunglasses when playing outside. The cheap sunglasses for a few euros do not provide adequate protection. Correct sunglasses carry the CE mark, followed by a number from 0 to 4. The higher the number, the better the protection.
