Do you need sunglasses in winter? Most of us protect ourselves from the sun in summer, yet many people don’t realise that the same care should carry on through the colder months. The sun sits lower in the sky and the air is colder, but UV radiation is a year-round threat. Winter conditions can even intensify exposure, because sunlight bounces off snow, ice, and wet roads, and skiing, snowboarding, and long winter walks mean our eyes can take in far more UV than we expect.
Looking after your eyes is part of looking after yourself in winter, alongside the things we already do for mood and sleep, such as letting more natural light into your home or trying light-based approaches to winter low mood. Good habits now also support healthy eyes over a lifetime.
When UV damage happens fast
Acute UV damage to the eye goes by several names. The technical term is photokeratitis, often called snow blindness, although anglers can get it from glare off open water and welders get an industrial version known as arc eye. It is essentially sunburn of the cornea and, like sunburn, it doesn’t announce itself straight away. The American Academy of Ophthalmology notes that symptoms usually build over several hours, so you might feel fine on the slopes and then find your eyes red, watery, painful, and gritty that evening, as if there were sand under the eyelid.
The good news is that photokeratitis tends to settle within 24 to 48 hours as the cornea heals. In the meantime, preservative-free lubricating drops (artificial tears) from a pharmacy, a cold compress, and over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen can make things more comfortable. Take out contact lenses, and see an optometrist if the pain is severe or your vision has not recovered within two days, as the College of Optometrists advises.
The slower, long-term damage
Chronic UV exposure is more serious, largely because the conditions it contributes to develop gradually and often without symptoms until they are fairly advanced. Many of these changes are far easier for an optometrist to spot during a routine check than for you to notice yourself.
UV exposure is linked to earlier cataracts, which cloud the eye’s natural lens sooner than would otherwise happen. Cataracts are treatable, but earlier onset means earlier disruption to your vision and possibly earlier surgery. Some research also links lifetime sun exposure to age-related macular degeneration, which affects central vision and has no cure. The evidence there is less settled, and genetics and smoking matter a great deal, but protecting your eyes from a young age is a sensible precaution.
Then there are pterygium and pinguecula, two growths on the conjunctiva (the clear membrane over the white of the eye), usually on the side nearest the nose. Both are more common in people with a lot of cumulative sun exposure, which is why pterygium is sometimes nicknamed surfer’s eye. They can be removed surgically but tend to come back, so prevention is the better approach. Wraparound sunglasses help here, because UV light doesn’t only arrive from straight ahead; it also reaches the eye from the sides, which standard frames leave exposed.
Most seriously, UV can contribute to conjunctival melanoma, a rare cancer of the eye’s surface, and to basal cell carcinoma on the eyelids. Both are uncommon, but they are good reasons to take sun protection around the eyes as seriously as sun protection anywhere else on the body.
Who is more at risk
Some people are more vulnerable than others. People with light-coloured irises and fair skin appear to be at greater risk of some UV-related eye problems, much as fair skin burns faster than darker skin, so it is worth bearing in mind if you or your children have blue or green eyes.
Certain medicines also raise sensitivity to the sun. Doxycycline, often prescribed for skin conditions such as rosacea, is a well-known example. These reactions can be phototoxic, a faster and more severe burn than usual, or photoallergic, where UV changes the drug in the body and triggers an allergic response, sometimes after a delay. They mostly affect the skin rather than the eyes, but it is worth checking the patient information leaflet before a sunny trip if you have started a new medicine.
If you have had cataract surgery, not every replacement lens filters UV to the same degree. Most modern lenses do, but it is a reasonable question to ask your surgeon or optometrist if you are unsure.
Do you need sunglasses in winter, and which ones?
Sunglasses are by far the best way to protect your eyes from UV. However, dark lenses and UV protection are not the same thing, and confusing the two is one of the most common and consequential mistakes people make. Dark lenses without a proper filter can arguably be worse than wearing nothing, because the darkness makes your pupils dilate and lets more UV into an eye that is now wide open to receive it.
What matters is the label. Look for lenses marked UV400, which block essentially all UVA and UVB up to 400 nanometres, or a CE or UKCA mark showing they meet the relevant safety standard. The NHS gives the same advice. Reputable sunglasses come with a card or leaflet explaining the protection they offer, and if a pair has no clear rating, treat that as a red flag rather than an oversight. As a rule of thumb, if you cannot find the UV rating, don’t rely on the glasses to provide it.
Other ways to protect your eyes
- Wear a hat: A broad brim shades your eyes from above in a way sunglasses alone cannot.
- Mind the timing: In the UK, UV is strongest between 11am and 3pm, and it passes easily through cloud, so a grey day offers less protection than it feels like it should.
- Watch reflective surfaces: Snow, ice, and water bounce UV back up towards your face, so wear goggles or wraparound glasses when skiing or walking in snow.
- Protect your eyes on sunbeds: UV from a sunbed is intense and direct, so wear proper UV-blocking goggles rather than simply closing your eyes.
Knowing when to get checked
The tricky thing about chronic UV damage is that it is largely invisible from the inside. You won’t notice your cataract risk creeping up or a very early pterygium forming the way you would notice sunburnt skin. That is why regular eye examinations matter, even if you don’t think your prescription has changed. An optometrist can spot early signs of UV-related damage well before they cause trouble and may be able to stop them getting worse.
Protecting your eyes from winter UV is not complicated. Wear decent sunglasses with proper UV filtering, add a hat when you can, stay aware of peak hours and reflective surfaces, and book regular check-ups to catch anything a lifetime of exposure may be building up. None of it is difficult once you understand the risks.
FAQs
- Do you need sunglasses in winter? Yes. UV is present all year, and snow and ice reflect it back towards your eyes, so sunglasses with UV400 protection are worth wearing on bright winter days.
- Can you get sunburnt eyes in winter? Yes. Photokeratitis, or snow blindness, is common among skiers and usually clears within 24 to 48 hours.
- Are darker sunglasses better? Not necessarily. Lens darkness has nothing to do with UV protection, so always check for a UV400, CE, or UKCA label.
