Your eyes are your windows to the world. That’s why, no matter your age or the time of year, we hope you focus on safety by protecting the delicate skin around your eyes from skin cancer and premature aging every time you go outside.

It’s a fact: Eyelid skin cancers account for 5-10 percent of all skin cancers. The good news is that you can prevent sun damage to your eyes and eyelids by wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, applying sunscreen and seeking the shade.

We know that many of you are taking steps to protect your eyes. Just last week, we polled our Facebook and Twitter communities to ask if they wear UV-blocking sunglasses every day and about 73 percent of respondents answered yes. We’d love to see that number reach 100 percent in next summer’s poll.   

In the meantime, here are answers to commonly asked questions about the sun and your eyes: 

• How can I safeguard my eyes from the sun?
   
• Is it safe to use sunscreen around my eyes?
   
• What happens if I develop skin cancer on my eyelid or in the area around my eyes?
   
• What is ocular melanoma? A survivor’s story.

Community Corner

Our Facebook community weighs in. Join the conversation!

Have you ever had a sunburn?
What did you do about it?

Too many to count! Cool shower and solarcaine as a kid. Melanoma surgery tomorrow.

Wish I had listened to Mom back in the day and hadn’t sunbathed to get that elusive tan on my fair skin.

Cool baths with baking soda. Spent a lifetime dodging the sun, and I still had Mohs for 3 cancers so far. Now I totally avoid the sun, wear long pants and long sleeves out on the boat, with a big hat and I'm soaked with sunscreen.

So, so many burns. Irish skin living in the Sun Belt never stood a chance. Cold aloe out of the fridge, cool showers, drink tons of water. I haven’t burnt in several years (I always wear sunscreen and sun blocking clothes).

All the things I used to mitigate the burn could not stop the damage. Eventually I got skin cancer. Now I wear sunscreen and wear UPF 50 clothing and hats.

Had a couple bad burns and peeling skin as a teenager way back before sunscreen. Had a terrible sunburn our first summer living in Wyoming in the high altitude and beautiful breeze. Had metastatic melanoma 20 years later, but by the grace of God, great surgeons and oncologists and new drugs at the time, I survived.

Lots of aloe and suffering :(