A woman wears sunglasses at the ski resort of Serre-Chevalier, eastern France on February 3, 2022 ( AFP / LOIC VENANCE)

Posts falsely link sunglasses to skin cancer

This article is more than one year old.
Published on October 20, 2023 at 19:49
3 min read
By Rob Lever, AFP USA

Health authorities recommend protection from the sun's ultraviolet radiation to reduce the risk of skin cancers, but social media posts claim wearing sunglasses actually increases the danger. This is false; experts say properly designed eyewear can help prevent sun damage.

"We need to see the sun, stop wearing sunglasses," says text over a Facebook reel shared October 10, 2023.

The speaker in the video is John Welbourn, a former professional football player and host of the podcast "Power Athlete." The clip comes from an August 2023 episode in which he said that after his father got skin cancer on his face, a doctor told them people who wear sunglasses are more susceptible because the body "doesn't put out the protective mechanisms" to prevent tumors from forming.

Screenshot of a Facebook reel taken October 17, 2023

Similar claims have circulated on other platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, blogs and TikTok.

"It might sound a little weird but sunglasses actually have a huge impact on skin cancer," says a September 21 post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "It's because they block the light from signaling to our eyes that our body needs to react to incoming sunlight damage."

The posts are the latest in a spate of misinformation about skin cancer, which is strongly associated with excessive sun exposure. The sunglasses claim appears to stem from an assertion in a 2007 book called "Survival of the Sickest," which Irish news outlet The Journal debunked in 2021.

Elisabeth Richard, a dermatologist in the US state of Maryland who specializes in light therapy for skin diseases, said there is no merit to the claim that sunglasses are linked to cancer.

"Are UV-blocking sunglasses protective? Yes. Is there any evidence that wearing sunglasses is harmful to eye or skin health? No," Richards said in an October 19 email. "Unless you count that sunglasses might keep you outside longer because they provide protection."

Health experts in the United States and elsewhere recommend sunglasses to protect against damage to the eyes.

The Mayo Clinic says on its website (archived here) that the skin around the eye is some of the thinnest on the body and is more susceptible to sun damage. The academic medical center also notes that sunglasses protect the lens, cornea and other parts of the eye from damaging ultraviolet (UV) light.

"We suggest sunglasses on children as early, and as young, as they will wear them," Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist, says in the July 15, 2020 article.

Advisories from the Cleveland Clinic, National Eye Institute (NEI) and World Health Organization (archived here, here and here) also back the recommendations.

"Cancers of the eyelid, including basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, are linked to UV exposure," the NEI says on its website.

The Skin Cancer Foundation says such cancers, as well as the more dangerous melanoma, can affect the eyelids and surrounding tissues -- and that sun exposure can cause other harm, including corneal sunburn.

"Choose shades that block 99 to 100 percent of both UVA and UVB light," the nonprofit says on its website (archived here).

AFP has fact-checked other false and misleading health claims here.

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