Are All Sunglasses Created Equally When It Comes to Protecting Your Eyes?

Wearing sunglasses is the ideal way to protect your eyes (and skin around your eyes) when you are outside. Knowing if your sunglasses are up to the task that they were designed for is another story. Make sure you are choosing your eye protection based on how they will perform rather than the latest trends. Are all sunglasses created equally when it comes to protecting your eyes?

Choosing to wear sunglasses without 100% UV protection poses serious risk to your eyesight. UV damage to the eyes can lead to cataracts, macular degeneration, cancers of the eye and photokeratitis. It does not matter the shade or the darkness of the lenses, the most important factor is blocking 99-100% of the UVA and UVB rays. The first way to tell if your sunglasses are offering you proper protection is by reading the label. Information on the label should indicate the type of protection you will get. Wording such as “100% UV protection” or “UV400” ensures adequate protection for your eyes. If your sunglasses do not have a label, you can search for your glasses online to see if they have 1005 UV protection. The arm of the glasses should have a series of numbers and letters, like an identification number typically spaced out in four sets of numbers. The first group is the style, the second group is the color code, the third group is the lens and the last set of numbers is the bridge size. If you search these numbers on the manufacturer’s website, you should be able to locate enough information to determine if your eyes will receive the needed protection from sun damage. If either of these options is not available to you, bring your sunglasses into Skyline Vision Clinic and we can run a simple test to measure UV protection.

Do not rely on fashion sense alone. Most sunglasses these days offer 100% UV protection so it shouldn’t be hard to find the right style that compliments your face, your wallet and, most important, safeguards against damage to your eyesight. If you would like help selecting the right sunglasses for you, check out our selection of quality frames and lenses with your comprehensive eye exam. Book your appointment online here at WEBSITE or call our office at 719-630-3937 today.