I ski often, and one of the most annoying phenomenon that I just can not seem to get over is how sensitive my eyes are to the reflection of the sun onto the snow. Typically I have to wear extra dark sunglasses when I go out and heavy duty goggles when I ski.

What’s even worse is I have to buy prescription sunglasses and goggles because I would be blind as a bat without them. I have sat on, and lost three pairs of sunglasses over the last two years. At $250 a pop, that’s 750 bucks down the bob sled tube.

Once I was up high on Blanca Peak. I had been skiing all day and I took off my goggles for a bit to let my eyes rest. I don’t know if it was the combination of fatigue from skiing black trails all day, or there just happen to be a lot of UV ray alerts or something. I went blind for about three or four minutes. It was crazy and I thought I had lost my mind. This is what has motivated me to learn more about the cause, prevention, and treatment of snow blindness.

Snow Blindness > Defined
Deriving my own definition, with a little help from Google Answers, snow blindness is:
Temporary loss of site and inflammation of the cornea as well as conjunctiva cornea, following an extreme exposure of the eyes to ultraviolet rays and bright sun light and reflected from snow or ice.
Snow blindness is very similar to a sunburn of the cornea, and might not be noticed for hours after the exposure. Symptoms can vary from bloodshot eyes and teary to increasing pain, having a gritty feeling and swelling shut completely. Only in very severe cases can snow blindness cause permanent site loss.

Snow Blindness > Prevention
When hiking, camping, or skiing, I use sunglasses that have a minimum of these specifications:
- 95-100% Ultra Violet Light absorption
- CR-39 lens – These are lighter and more comfier than glass
- Larger than average, snug, lenses that wrap very close to the face
- 95-100% Ultra Violet Light absorption

Snow Blindness > Treatment
By doing some research, I found these tips of what to do and what not to allow the pain and symptoms of snow blindness to disappear as the conjunctiva cornea heals:

- Do not rub your eyes and be sure to remove contact lenses if you have them
- Take light pain medication orally
- Cover your eyes with a cool wet washcloth or gauze bandages to prevent irritation from the movement of your eyelids and to protect from the indoor light
-Try to recover/rest in a dark room
-Wear sunglasses or goggles outside until your pain and symptoms disappear entirely