“Protect your eyes: A warning about photokeratitis during outdoor activities”

A New Jersey woman suffered burns to her cornea while going to the beach on a family trip.

According to the British media Daily Mail, Dana Galliano (47) got photokeratitis after spending time at the beach without wearing sunglasses. He explained that after coming home from the beach, he felt a burning sensation in his right eye, as if there was sand in it.

He said, “I felt like my eyes were burning, unlike symptoms such as allergies.”

At first, he thought it was sand in his eyes and it hurt, so he rinsed his eyes with water. After a few hours, the pain subsided and he reportedly took an anti-inflammatory drug containing ibuprofen. Afterwards, there were marks in his eyes that were not there before, but he ignored them. However, on the weekend after spending time at the beach, he also developed pain in his left eye.

Eventually, he went to the doctor and was told that his eyes were sunburned and could be permanent. The doctor said that if the symptoms worsened, it could adversely affect vision. When asked by medical staff how often he wears sunglasses, he said he rarely wears them.

Currently wearing sunglasses as a daily routine and working hard to protect his eyesight, he said, “Before I got burned, I only wore glasses while driving at night, but now I wear glasses every day, even when driving or working on the computer.”

Photokeratitis is a burn of the cornea and causes symptoms such as redness, blurred vision, and pain. Eyelid twitching or excessive glare when looking at light. Occasionally, vision may be impaired, but this is not the case with all photokeratitis. The symptoms of photokeratitis are easy to mistake for eye fatigue or dry eye syndrome, but if the foreign body sensation persists for several days after seeing sunlight, it is good to visit a hospital.

To prevent photokeratitis, it is good to protect your eyes with sunglasses or a hat when outdoors on a day with strong ultraviolet rays. When UV rays come into contact with water or sand and are reflected into the eyes, they can also irritate the eyes.