July Calendar of Monthly Events

July has two worthy events, UV Safety Month and Eye Injury Prevention Month. Even with FDA regulations in place, many companies are choosing to attempt to sidestep the regulations and hope that they can gain profits at the expense of poor products. Some are advertising very heavily and getting their name out in front of people that hopefully will remember the name when they are shopping for sunscreen.

Many companies cover the UVA and not the UVB spectrum of the suns rays and other companies protect in the reverse. Many companies now just list UV and do not say which they protect you from, but according the FDA, you must be protected equally from each type if the manufacturer does not designate. UVB is responsible for sunburn, plays a major part in the causation of skin cancer, and affects the outer layer of skin only. UVA is less intense than UVB, but is up to 50 times more prevalent than UVB. It penetrates to the deeper layers of the skin, is the dominant tanning factor, and is linked to skin aging. While it may cause skin cancer, it can damage skin DNA.

Gone are terms of waterproof, sweatproof, and sunblock as per order of the FDA. Now it is suggested reapplying sunscreen after coming out of the water and regularly at approximately 20-minute intervals if you will be in the sun continuously.

Eye Injury Prevention Month is important and one of many months promoting different aspects of eye health. With eyesight being as important as it is, this is something to appreciate and celebrate everyday.

Eye injury prevention month focuses primarily on preventing eye injury in the work place and this is always important. However, eye injuries can happen any place and the home is responsible for more eye injuries than many people realize. In fact, nearly half (44.7 percent) of all eye injuries occurred in the home, as reported during the fifth-annual Eye Injury Snapshot (conducted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Ocular Trauma).

Lawn mowers, weed trimmers and leaf blowers can throw dust and debris into the eye causing injury. Household chemicals such as drain cleaners, bleach, oven cleaners, and battery acid can splash into the eye. So please wear protective eyewear at home, at work, or where ever needed.