Big wave rider Mark Visser on surfer’s eye and protecting your vision - 5th June 2017

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Maui Jim ambassador Mark Visser on the beach.

by Raylene Bliss, Southern Courier

MARK VISSER’S name will always be associated with the famous Jaws surf break in Maui, Hawaii but the adventure athlete’s decision to put his name to the Maui Jim sunglass brand is more about raising eye health awareness.

The adventure athlete, who made history in 2011 by achieving a night ride on 30-40ft waves at Hawaii’s Jaws break, says it’s important for Aussies to know that we need to protect our eyes all year round, not just in the warmer months.

Visser’s passion is using innovative technology to surf some of the world’s biggest waves.

“I’m working on a project called ‘Operation Deep Blue’, which is a wave 4,000 miles out in the ocean. We have to parachute in with jet skis,” he says.

But the ocean adventurer had to apply his quest for better technology to himself when he was diagnosed with surfer’s eye (pterygiums) — a growth on the clear tissue that lines your eyelids and eyeball caused by long exposure to the outdoors.

“I surf almost every morning and the glare can be a real issue over time on your eyes,” Visser says. “I started to get pterygiums and had to be pretty strict on myself when it came to protecting my eyes.”

He chose the Maui Jim brand because all their sunglasses remove 100 per cent of the sun’s damaging UV rays and glare. Visser, who is coming to Sydney to help launch the new Jim Maui Brilliant lens, is also working on special straps for a set of Maui Jim sunglasses he’ll use for skydiving.

“If there’s ever a time when you really want to make sure you can see clearly, coming out of the sky from 15,000ft would be one of them,” he says.

Eyedesign Eyewear Mosman principal optometrist and owner Jason Leong says sunlight contains UV and blue light.

“Blue light is what makes the sky look blue and in its natural form and the human body uses it to regulate sleep and wake cycles,” Dr Leong says. “However our eyes’ natural filters don’t provide sufficient protection against the blue light and accumulated exposure has been associated with age-related macular degeneration.”

He says protecting our eyes from damaging UV rays also allows us to see better in the dark.

“Bright sunlight bleaches the photoreceptors and lengthens the time it takes your eyes to adjust to the dark,” he says.

“Normally, your eyes should adapt fully to the dark within 30 minutes. Being in bright sunlight for two to three hours can delay the adaptation by hours though so by protecting our eyes, we shorten that adaptation period making us better night drivers, skiers and dog walkers.

He says wearing non-protective sunglasses is actually worse than going without.

“If sunglasses offer shade but don’t offer UVA and UVB protection, they’ll cause your eyes to dilate (pupils get larger) which exposes your eyes to more of those harmful rays. To combat the harmful effects of the sun, we should wear a pair of quality polarised sunglasses because they block out harmful UV rays and eliminate glare.”

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(Southern Courier)