The Health Benefits of Sunglasses. The problem with cheap sunglasses.

      

The Health Benefits of Sunglasses:

                                                                                                                              Did you realize sunglasses protect you from more than cataracts? There are several significant benefits to wearing sunglasses every time you go out into sunlight. DRIVING GLARE Sunglasses with 100% UV tinting cut down on glare from reflected sunlight.

The Health Benefits of Sunglasses

This reduces squinting (and the wrinkles it causes), and can prevent certain migraines and headaches brought on by bright light. But the real benefit comes when you’re driving: glare from a road can temporarily blind drivers. UV tinted sunglasses allow you to avoid this potential hazard. And you don’t have to choose dark lenses: pale amber or other light colors work just as well to prevent glare, as long as they are 100% UV tinted. BLOW DRYING YOUR EYES Wind and air conditioning can dry out your eyes, causing discomfort, redness, itchiness and soreness. In cars, air conditioning often feels best when it’s blowing near your face – and that means into your eyes. Wearing sunglasses – even when it’s not sunny – cuts down on the effects of air blowing directly into your eyes. CATARACTS Don’t forget cataracts – one of those ailments you don’t really think about until it’s too late. Long term excessive exposure to UV rays can cause cataracts in your eyes. Symptoms include blurred vision, light sensitivity, double vision, needing brighter light to read, and fading of colors. Wearing sunglasses regularly can prevent or slow the development of cataracts, so it’s never too early to start.

The problem with cheap sunglasses:

Cheap sunglasses are everywhere. They are a popular free gift from companies that want to appear trendy, and they are on sale at every shop anywhere near a beach, as well as anywhere else that people often go in summer (theme parks, for example). But you should be very, very cautious of cheap sunglasses, because even though it feels like they’re helping to keep the sun out of your eyes, they can actually do more harm than good.

The problem is that cheap sunglasses don’t protect against ultraviolet rays, the rays that can cause problems like eye cancer and cataracts. Instead, they fool your eyes into thinking that it’s dark when it’s actually not, which causes the pupils of your eyes to widen, letting in far more UV rays than they normally would. This massively increases the amount of damage that the sun can do to your eyes. While you might be happy to use them to keep the sun from dazzling you, if you do it often you may be significantly damaging your health. If you have a pair of cheap sunglasses – or you’re given one for free – the best thing to do, all things considered, is to throw them in the bin. Of course, the opposite of cheap sunglasses isn’t necessarily expensive ones. The sunglasses you want are ones that offer 100% protection from UV rays, but these can actually be very reasonably priced – and as long as you keep track of where you put them at the end of the summer, they can last you for decades to come, which makes them even better value. You should look for some kind of official certification that the sunglasses have passed tests both for UVA and UVB screening, and only buy from a shop that you trust, preferably an established pharmacist.