Summer is here!

Before you take a dip in the pool or relax for hours on end in the sun, don’t forget to protect your eyes, it may be the key to long lasting vision.

"I once saw a funny sign that said ‘hey, I don’t swim in your toilet, don’t pee in my swimming pool." said Dr. Jeffrey Whitman, President of Key-Whitman Eye Center.

Unfortunately, that’s what happens.

"If you have ever been in the pool and you get out of the pool and you have those irritated red nasty eyes and you think ‘oh there’s too much chlorine in the water,’ that ain’t the problem " said Whitman.

That’s why he says wearing goggle should become a habit.

"Imitate Olympic swimmers, they know what they are doing and when they get in the pool, they have swimming goggles on all the time, that gives you 100 percent protection. And get your kids use to wearing swimming goggles in the pool because if they learn at an early age it’ll be no problem going forward." said Whitman.

If the pool is not your thing, Dr. Whitman says spending time outside for a cookout or just to lay out is still a reason to throw on some shade.

"You know how we need to protect our skin, good UV protection, lotions on our face, and our skin. We need to do the same thing for our eyes… because we know that we can get reflected light UV burns, like a sunburn to the eye, we also can get earlier cataracts and irritation." said Whitman.

Eye doctors say those over the counter sunglasses you bought to save money, may not save your eyes.

"You are often not getting full UV protection and your eyes get fooled into that hey, i’m protected out there and the pupils actually get bigger, let more light in and you can even get more damage from these cheap sunglasses, so don’t be fooled, make sure that you get the highest quality UV protected sunglasses and even better those with polarizing filters." said Whitman.

Dr. Whitman says the sun can age our eyes a lot faster, so protecting them while outside may also mean dripping in some artificial tears to clean them out when you are done with outdoor activities.