Snow blindness
From Freepedia
| Snow blindness | ||
|---|---|---|
| ICD-10 code: | H16.1 | |
| ICD-9 code: | 370.24 | |
- Snowblind redirects here. For the Black Sabbath song, see Snowblind (song)
Snow blindness is a painful condition, typically a keratitis, caused by exposure of unprotected eyes to sunlight reflected from snow. This is especially a problem at high altitude and polar regions.
The problem is also related to the condition arc eye sometimes experienced by welders.
Snow blindness does not usually cause permenant vision loss. Resting the eyes in a dark room for several days will cause the pain and symptoms to disappear.
Some guidelines to use when choosing a good trekking/mountaineering pair of sunglasses:
- 99-100% UV absorption
- Polycarbonate or CR-39 lens (lighter, more comfortable than glass)
- 5-10% visible light transmittance
- Large lenses that fit close to the face
- Wraparound or side-shielded to prevent incidental light exposure
