If you can see tiny brown specks or freckles in the iris portion of your eyes, these can increase the risk of two serious eye diseases.
Though freckles in the eye are correlated to increasing age, there are other causes that seem to be at play.
Researchers have discovered that these so-called freckles in the iris (the colored part of the eye) are more likely to be found in people who’ve had — over their lifetime — a lot of sun exposure.
These dark spots may increase the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.
The journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (July 2017) reports on a study in which more than 600 swimmers at public pools in Austria had their eyes inspected for the freckles.
Subjects filled out questionnaires about their lifetime exposure to the sun and whether or not they employed sun protection.
Results of the Study
• Development of eye freckles corresponded to increasing age.
• It also correlated to lifetime number of sunburns including blistering sunburns.
• Sunscreen was a factor in diminishing the correlation.
• Dark eyes were less likely to get freckles.
Location of Iris Where Freckles Were Most Located
If you’re facing a person, imagine their iris divided into fourths.
The lower outer quadrant was the section most frequented by the little freckles.
This could be due to the nose and eyebrow shielding the other quadrants from sun exposure.
