Oasis's Bonehead at Teenage Cancer Trust concert in March
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Doctors now say summer, despite its screenless nature, has an impact on the eyes.
Dr Tusha Grover says the season of heat and al fresco exercises has an impact on how one of the body’s most complicated assets functions.
“The sun’s scorching heat is extremely harmful to the eyes” says the Medical Director of the Vision Eye Centre in New Delhi.
Dr Grover continues: “Summertime exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays can increase the risk of cataracts and retinal damage.”
As a result it is crucial that any sunglasses worn provide UV protection.
Dr Grover adds the summer “can also cause eye allergies, which range from mild itching and redness to severe watering and swelling of the eyelids, sties, and bacterial and viral conjunctivitis”.
Hayfever, an accoutrement of spring and summer, has a strong role to play in this regard.
Excessive heat can also cause “ocular burns, cataracts, macular degeneration and cancer,” adds Dr Grover.
Although this may sound unnerving these injuries and conditions can be avoided if simple measures are taken such as wearing sunglasses and not staring into the sun.
Excessive exposure to the sun can also lead to skin cancer.
In this regard there has recently been a development.
A team of researchers from the United States has developed a blood test that can detect skin cancer; the team found melanoma cells can be detected in blood and plasma.
Should this test become approved and widely available it would add another layer of diagnostic capability to cancer care.
Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world.
There are two types, melanoma (the least common and most serious) and non-melanoma (the most prevalent).
Symptoms of non-melanoma are the appearance of a lump or discoloured patch of skin that persists for a few weeks; this patch slowly progresses over a number of months or years.
These lumps often turn red and firm or develop in ulcers; cancer patches meanwhile are described by the NHS as “flat and scaly”.
It is recommended by the NHS to seek medical advice if the “lump, ulcer, lesion, or skin discolouration has not healed after 4 weeks”.
The NHS adds: “While it’s unlikely to be skin cancer, it’s best to get it checked.”
More information about skin cancer can be found on the NHS website.
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