Currently 1 in 7 adults over 50 years old are classified as legally blind in Australia. Worse still 70% of adults over 65 are legally blind and mainly from UV related eye diseases. Unfortunately similar statistics do occur in other countries. Prams are a major cause of this devastating catastrophe. Please read on to find out how prams harm eyes and what you can do to avoid this from happening to your baby.
Firstly we know that babies do not have the same UV protection in their eyes like adults. You can read all about this in our blog: How UV damages eyes. Just watch a baby in the sun. Unlike adults they never squint. Instead they close their eyes tightly but the UV passes thru the thin eyelid. And hits the lens of the eye which focuses the UV onto the retina. Causing a painful burning sensation that babies hate. So then they squirm around trying to hide from the sun. Intensive studies shows this causes babies when they do grow up. To get eye diseases like. cataracts, pterygium, actinic & droplet keratites, pinguecula and macular degeneration.
How prams harm eyes 👁️⚠️
Do prams really harm eyes?
Yes. And this is the reason why. As adult’s we walk around looking down while we place babies in a pram looking up at the sun. To make matters worse we then place a hood around the babies head that works like a solar collector. Our testing on prams has shown the baby can receive up to 3 times the UV radiation in a pram when the hood is used.
Even when they get a little older. And are sitting up in a pram they can receive up to 3 times more UV rays in a pram than an adult standing up. Especially if the pram is low to the ground and facing forward. Even bringing the cover or hood over, only makes it worse. UV rays do bounce of hard surfaces like asphalt, concrete or even water. These rays then get trapped under the hood. And due to the curved shape of most covers the UV rays concentrate on the babies head like a solar collector. This certainly is how prams harm eyes.
How to avoid it from happening to your baby
So what should you look for in a pram that will give the best possible UV protection for your baby’s eyes.
- a high pram – to stop UV from bouncing up off the ground and into the pram.
- a large hood – to stop the sun’s rays from entering into the pram.
- have the pram reversed as often as possible. So when you are pushing the pram you can use your body to shelter the baby from the opposite side to the hood. Thereby stopping the UV from entering into the hood.
- use only a matt black coloured interior pram hood. This will definitely reflect less sunlight into your babies eyes. Please don’t choose white, grey or light colours.
- and when your toddler is sitting in a pram facing forward. You should also have an extra UV protective shade cloth draping down the front. Not too dark so they can still see out.
- also wearing good quality sunglasses when in the pram. Will eliminate even more UV rays from damaging your baby’s eyes.
Simply by following these tips. You will reduce the chance of your child ending up with unwanted UV related eye disease. Diseases like cataracts, pterygium, actinic & droplet keratites. Plus pinguecula and macular degeneration, leading to blindness later in life.
How prams harm eyes
Please help us save sight 🆘👁️
Now that you know how prams harm eyes. Please share this information with family and friends with babies. So we can finally rid this problem for good.
And certainly if you are looking for the very best baby sunglasses to wear in a pram. Then take a look at our Premy Wrapz, Baby Wrapz and Baby Wrapz 2. Designed specifically to offer the very best UV protection both in and out of a pram. 🕶️👍
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