Slide on thoseshades

THE Australian Society of Ophthalmologists (ASO) is calling on thecommunityto‘slide’ on their shades as the country braces for seasonal high temperatures and conditions.

Sun protection measures arerecommendedwhen theUltraviolet (UV) Index is 3 and above, but most of mainland Australia is currently experiencing seasonalindexes within the ‘extreme’ range of 11-15.

ASO vice president, Associate Professor Dr Ashish Agar,said it comes as no surprise that Australia has some of the highest UV ratings in the world.

“It’s an Australian childhood rite of passage to learnto‘slip, slop, slap, seek and slide’, especially when the call of summer arrives,” Dr Agar said.

“A very importantpartofthe message often gets overlooked, and that concerns our eye health.” from $395

As an eye surgeon, Dr Bill Glasson sees and treatspatientswhoserepeated or excessive sun exposurehas led to serious conditions such as pingueculaand pterygium, and cataracts, among others.

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Although less common, he said Australiansshould be wary of not only developing melanoma on their skin this summer,but the risks associated with ocular melanoma -the most common form of eye cancer

“Each year 125-150 people will be diagnosed with ocular melanoma around the country,” Dr Glasson said.

“As thesymptomsand common areas for growths can be difficult for the naked eye to see, patients often receive adiagnosis followinganeye testwith either an ophthalmologist or optometrist.”

This was the case when then 37-yearold mother of two, Susan Vine, booked in to see an optometristfor an assessment for glasses after experiencing frequent headaches.

Ms Vine was immediately referred to Dr Glasson, who has aspecial interest and expertise in ocular oncology.

Within two weeks of an initial eye test, she had been diagnosed with aformofocular melanoma and had undergone enucleation surgery -the complete removal of her affected eye.

Seventeen years on from her diagnosis, Ms Vine has become an advocate for others by establishing an online support group for Australian and New Zealand patients, family,and carers -OcuMel Australia and New Zealand.

“The journey and challenges areunique, especially when it comes totreatment and related vision loss, so we find many of our membersare looking for understanding, guidance and support,” she said.

Ms Vine saidtherewas analarming lackofawareness about eye health. Every Australian should know to ‘slide’ on their sunglasses and make ahealthy habit of booking an annual eye test.

“Every day Ilive with the reminder of my diagnosis and the challengesthatcome with being vision impaired and wearing aprosthetic eye, such as thinking about how Isit or even cross the road.

“I rarely woresunglasses when outdoors, and despite having afreckle on my eye from childhood, did not realise the importance of monitoring it for changes.

“Weneed to teach children the value of protectingtheireyes from ayoung age and encourage healthy habits early of getting regular health checks.”

Dr Glasson reinforced that in addition to ocular melanoma, skin cancers such as basal cell carcinomas (BCCs)and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) can be found in and around the eyes, strengthening the cause to protect not only our eyes, but the areas around them.

The ASO said risk factors to be awareof included having pale or fair complexion, light eye colour,family historyofmelanoma, growths on or in the eye, increasing age, and skin conditions which cause abnormal moles to grow.

Individualswith pterygiumwereata greaterriskofdeveloping skincancer, including melanoma, as the condition was amarker for previous exposuretohigh levels of UV light, the ASO said.

Dr Agar said the best method of eye health protection from the effects of UV exposure was to ensureyou and the ones you love ‘slide’ on UV-blocking eyewearthis summer and ‘slap’ on broad-brimmed headwear

“Always check thelabel when buying eyewear to confirmthe level of UV protection,” he said.

“At the ASO, we recommend wearing close-fitting and wraparound style sunglasses that meet the Australian and New Zealand Standardfor sunglasses with a lens category of 2, 3or4,which will ensure they’repractical for wear in Australian conditions.

“And don’t forget -for best practice when selecting headwear- abroad-brimmed hat will provide theoptimum eye protection against reflected radiated rays.”

Youcan be summer eye-safe by checking UV indexes on the Bureau of Meteorology websiteatwww.bom.gov.au/uv/ and doing the five: ‘slip, slop, slap, seek and slide’.