We’ve all enjoyed the beautiful sunshine that has been a part of British shores over the past month, and have been spending every moment outside to take advantage of itwhile the sun is still there! What’s not to love? As it is a rare thing in the UK and being outdoors has numerous benefits. It helps us naturally feel more content inside, by increasing levels of Vitamin D levels and protecting us from inflammation, reducing blood pressure, and improving brain function, just to only several!
To prepare for the sun’s rays It is not uncommon for people to take the decision quickly to buy an inexpensive pair of street sunglasses for an impulse purchase in case you’ve lost your pair in the midst of a storm or forgot them at home or simply like the design of a stylish pair you’ve just spotted.
Despite the many positive benefits of soaking up the sun’s rays, it can produce harmful UV Rays that can cause eye and skin injury, especially if you wear those cheap sunglasses that do not block all UV radiation.
What is UV Rays?
UV (Ultraviolet) radiations comprise UVA and UVB radiations that could be risky if proper eye protection isn’t used. Studies have suggested that UVA radiations could be catalytic in the developing of serious eye problems later in life like cataracts, or aged-related macular degeneration. Cataracts may cause your vision to blur and eventually result in cataract removal surgery, while macular degeneration can cause losing of the central sight which is not currently removed.
However, UVB rays cause short long-term eye damage in the form of photokeratitis. It basically is similar to suffering from sunburned eyes. If you’ve suffered from the burning pain from sunburn to your skin, you could imagine how painful it will affect your eyes. In some instances of exposure to sun for a long time without protection for eyes, some may even experience temporary blindness.
How can sunglasses cause damage to your eyes?
Knowing the fact that ultraviolet rays could cause significant eye damage when they are exposed for long durations of time, it’s obvious that wearing sunglasses with poor quality could cause greater harm than benefit regardless of how elegant they may appear.
Many high-end sunglasses appear to be adequate dark lenses to protect against sun, but they’re not actually providing adequate UV protection. The issue lies in the fact that sunglasses are worn to keep our eyes from getting squinting when we are in intense sun’s rays. Squinting is a natural method of protecting our eyes by closing the pupils, allowing less glare and UV radiation into.
But, with dark lenses, our pupils expand and again when they adjust to the light and allow lots of sunlight through. In the absence of UV protection for your lenses, your dilation let in all the harmful UV rays that you thought you were protected from, causing more harm than good for your eyes.
How to Choose the Best Sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV
With all this in mind It’s still not too early to purchase the most effective sunglasses to block UV rays and to prevent further eye injury in the near future.
In the first place most importantly, it is of most importance to buy sunglasses that offer 100 UV protection. Always search for certified stickers or labels on the lenses that offer the minimum UV400 protection. This is a reliable method to tell which sunglasses are equipped with UV filters and which ones that don’t have. High-end sunglasses will have an UV-protective coating on the lenses, which blocks out the pesky UVA and UVB radiations.
Another characteristic of high-end sunglasses is polarised lenses which help to reduce the glare (intense light) which we see during bright days, like those we’ve had lately. The sun’s glare bounces of reflections , such as car bonnets and tarmac roads or even the snow. Although a great pair of sunglasses might offer 100 100% UV protection, some individuals still experience the glare while traveling, doing sports or just looking at the horizon from the beach in the sun.
Polarised lenses provide complete UV protection and also cut out the glare to avoid the risk of accidents and squinting from any unexpected distractions caused by intense light, for example, blindness that may occur while skiing or driving. This increases the clarity of your vision, accuracy , and decreases fatigue and strain on the eyes which makes it a secure choice for increased eye protection.
This is as good a moment to get the best pair of sunglasses that offer sun protection, as well as for glare removal prior to heading to enjoy the sun and knowing the eyes of your secure from sun-induced damage.
