"Yes, Even Your Eyeballs Can Get Sunburned" - Lauren Steussy
It’s not just your skin that can suffer in the sun. Actress Busy Phillips learned that the hard way when light exposure damaged her eyes. The painful injury, known as photokeratitis, was probably the result of too much ultraviolet light during a recent photo shoot, her doctor informed her. Avnish Deobhakta, MD, assistant professor of vitreoretinal surgery and ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said this burn to the surface of the cornea is surprisingly common in very strong sunlight, and, indeed, incredibly painful: “Your cornea is really, really sensitive,” he said. And not even our eyes are safe from skin cancer, or melanoma: “You can get them in any places where there are pigmented cells,” Dr. Deobhakta added, including the eyelid and the eye. In all cases, sunglasses are the best way to prevent damage to the eyes.
- Avnish Deobhakta, MD, Assistant Professor, Vitreoretinal Surgery, Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai