That’s what sunglasses are! We all know the fashion statement sunglasses can make, as we see celebrities sporting the latest fashions in sun wear. Yes, I will admit sunglasses are a fashion statement, but I will make a case that this is not their most important purpose. The right sunglasses help protect your eyes from damage and can protect you from harm. As Summer approaches, and you are as pending more time outside, it’s time to think about protecting your eyes from the sun.
There are really two main functional purposes sunglasses serve (outside of looking cool !). The first is, sunglasses protect your eyes from harmful light and reduce glare. Harmful light falls into two categories, visible and invisible light. The visible light that is most concerning is blue light. Blue light has the highest energy of the light spectrum that we can see. We know from research that blue light contributes to the development of macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of vision loss. The highest common source of blue light in our world is the sun. The more blue light you are exposed to over your lifetime, the higher your risk of developing macular degeneration as you age. We have treatments for macular degeneration ;however, prevention is a far better option. Ultraviolet is the non visible light we need to protect our eyes from. It can cause cataracts, skin cancer of the eyelids, or growths on the surface of the eye (called pinguecula and pterygium) which sometime need to surgically removed. A good pair of sunglasses should adequately filter both ultraviolet and blue light. Blue light should be reduced 75% or more and ultraviolet light should be filtered at 100%. There is no reason to buy a pair of sunglasses with less than 100% ultraviolet filtering lenses. There are federal requirements for sunglasses to list the amount of ultraviolet light they filter.
The second important purpose of sunglasses is to reduce glare. Glare is to light what noise is to sound. Glare is unwanted light that interferes with what you really want to see, we recommend a polarized filtering lens to most people. Polarization was designed by the navy to filter unwanted light off of water, allowing you to see through glare. This is not only for comfort, but a safety concern. There are situations, for instance while driving a car, where glare may prevent you from seeing a child on the side of the road or a signal. Removing the glare from your sight makes you more comfortable, but also prevents you from unwanted hazards. Blue filtering amber lenses also have the ability to reduce glare but they come at the cost of significant distortion of color.
As you can see from our discussion above sunglasses can do a lot more than just help you look cool! Sunglasses protect your eye health while at the same time make you more comfortable in situations where sunlight causes glare. Sunglasses can help prevent common eye health issues, some of which can lead to loss of sight. The right sunglasses can also protect you from unwanted hazards while driving by allowing you to see things hidden by glare. Your sunglasses should adequately filter both ultraviolet and blue light while removing glare. As the summer approaches, this is a good time to make sure you are protected. If you need help in selecting the right sunglass lenses for you or a loved one please give our office a call. Our selection of sunglasses will protect you and help you look cool at the same time!