Sunglasses can prevent significant eye damage

Twenty-eight year old Jose Vega spent much of his time growing up in the sun. According to The Kansas City Star, Vega is now suffering the consequences and has had to undergo surgery for pterygium three times.

Pterygium, a layer of tissue that grows over the eye, is caused by excessive exposure to sunlight, and the news source reports that all throughout Vega's years playing soccer in Mexico as a child and working on a farm in California, he never wore sunglasses.

Along with pterygium, there are a long list of potential eye health pitfalls for those who spend a lot of time outdoors. Conditions like keratitis, cataracts and macular degeneration can all be caused by UV rays, and are especially dangerous since they may not present themselves till later in life.

"The interesting thing about a lot of UV damage that occurs in adults is you don’t really see it until adulthood," optometrist Jason Rogers told the news provider.

Rogers added that everybody needs the same level of UV protection, but that it is especially important in children. The American Optometric Association recommends that sunglasses should block out 99 to 100 percent of UV rays and 75 to 90 percent of visible sunlight.