So we’re in the meat of the summer now: it’s July 4th weekend, the days are long, and that means lots of sunshine.

But are you protecting your eyes by wearing sunglasses?

The fact is you can look awesome and do something really really healthy for you also ..by wearing sunglasses to protect the eyes.

Didja know that in the short-term, people who spend long hours on the beach without adequate eye protection can develop photokeratitis, which is a reversible sunburn of the cornea. It’s painful and can result in temporary loss of vision.

Dr. Mark Former, an ophthalmologist with Former Eye Centers, says, “Sunglasses are extremely important, many people think that sunglasses are just for fashion, they are not they are mainly for protection, the main things that we try to protect against with sunglasses are cataracts, macular degeneration ,growths on the cornea which are called tritium and skin cancer at the lids.”

And you don’t have to spend your paycheck to get good ones.

“Something that is really important that is not well understood is just because you are pay a lot of money for a sunglass it doesn’t mean you are getting more protection, even a very inexpensive sunglass for less than ten dollars can give you adequate protection. The most important thing is to make sure that you are getting 100% ultraviolet protection and that includes both UVA and UVB glasses and the lens you purchase should say there is ultraviolet protection on them 100% and it should come with a little sticker that is generally on the lens.”


And don’t forget about those cool kids.

Whenever your child is in the sun long enough to get a sunburn or tan, they should wear sunglasses, even infants! Their eyes are even more susceptible to the rays of the sun.

Larger lenses, well fitted and close to the surface of the eye, provide the best protection.
Side shields give added protection. And, non breakable plastic lenses and frames are the best choice for children.

And, oh yeah, remember winter?

Well, even snow can reflect the ultraviolet rays into the eyes.

“Although the sun is brighter in the summer, fall and spring you can still get damage in the winter, so it is important to wear your sunglasses in the winter as well,” says Dr. Former.

Cool!

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