Snow blindness

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Snowblind redirects here. For the Black Sabbath song, see Snowblind (song)

Traditional Inuit goggles used to combat snow blindness

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 permanent vision loss. Resting the eyes in a dark room for several days will cause the pain and symptoms to disappear.

The Inuit carved goggles from caribou antler to help prevent snow blindness. The goggles were curved to fit the users face and had a large groove cut in the back to allow for the nose. A long thin slit was cut through the goggles to allow in a small amount of light. The goggles were held to the head by a cord made of caribou sinew.

Prevention

When trekking or mountaineering, sunglasses that offer the following are frequently recommended:

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

Snow blindness

Prevention

See also