Sun exposure can cause damage to your eyelid, cornea, lens and additional eye parts. Sunglasses can protect the eyes from the sun’s harmful rays -- however, some types of sunglasses provide added benefits. Photochromic and polarized are 2 types of specialized sunglasses.

The vastus medialis oblique muscle, more commonly called the VMO, sits above your knee on the inner front part of your thigh. While usually associated with assisting in leg extension, the results of a 2007 study published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"

Bloodshot eyes occur commonly in children, usually reflecting inflammation of the eye surface. This leads to dilation of tiny surface blood vessels and the appearance of bloodshot eyes. Although this symptom may be alarming, the underlying cause is often not serious.

Seeing spots or flashes of light or experiencing blurry vision in general are all common complaints after physical activity. In fact, many refer to these spots and colors as "seeing stars." Such vision issues are caused by a variety of factors that are easily fixed.

Some people believe astigmatism comes from heredity and eye socket formation. However, astigmatism often develops or is worsened after an injury to the neck or head, according to the American Vision Institute. Vision is distorted and blurred with astigmatism because of a refractive error with the eye.

More than 90 percent of the 40,000 sports-related eye injuries per year are preventable, according to FamilyDoctor.org. High-vision-risk sports are those played with a stick, racket, ball, bat or puck, and football is high risk because games involve bodily contact as well as a ball.

Neurologists specialize in disorders and diseases that affect the brain and the nervous system. Since the eyes can be affected by some of these conditions, doctors who specialize in neurology may be needed to diagnose and treat certain visual conditions.

If you're pregnant, you may know to question the safety of oral medicine use during pregnancy. But you may not think about topical medicines such as eye drops as having any potential effect on your baby. Eye drops can contain steroids, histamine blockers or mast cell stabilizers that also prevent histamine release.

Dilating drops allow doctors a better view into the eye, make it easier to perform eye surgery, and relieve the pain of some eye diseases, like uveitis, an inflammation of the uvea in the eye. Drops used to dilate eyes are called mydriatics.

Freckles, small accumulations of melanin or pigment, appear anywhere on the skin and sometimes in the eye, accounting for the majority of eye spots. In most cases, an eye freckle can only be seen by an opthalmologist. This is especially true if the freckle occurs inside the colored portion, or the iris, of the eye.

Glaucoma is elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) that squeezes the optic nerve fibers and causes vision loss. There are two types of glaucoma: open-angle and narrow-angle.

Being diagnosed with any kind of serious eye problem can be frightening. You start having symptoms, you make the appointment, the doctor pours a ton of drops into your eyes then blinds you with bright light. He spouts off some mumbo jumbo medical jargon and sends you on your way.