Please Read: Beware of cheap sunglasses...

 

Not a few are happy whenever they buy sunglasses on the highway from hawkers. To them, they have got a cheap buy. Sunglasses, which are a common feature with roadside hawkers, come in ‘designer’s labels’. Do you just buy such sunglasses? Oh! You think they are cute? Well, by the time you read the harm they cause to your health, you would not see it as cheap or good anymore.

The truth is that you are

doing more harm than good to your eyes and health. Sunglasses are not just a fashion statement; their lenses block harmful Ultra Violet Rays which, in severe cases, can cause permanent damage to the eyes.

When the sun is shining brightly, you squint and your pupils constrict to tiny dots – as small as half a millimeter in diameter to limit the amount of light getting in. When you put on sunglasses, the effect is the same as being in a dark room- the pupil dilates to let in more light.

Glasses that don’t block UV rays may offer some relief from visible light and reduce your need to squint, but the additional exposure to UVA and UVB can be harmful. For instance, if you put on a very dark pair of sunglasses, your pupil opens up; it dramatically changes in size from half a millimeter to 5 or 6 millimeters. It’s an enormous increase, and now you’re allowing much more harmful light into your eyes than if you didn’t wear the cheap sunglasses at all. Wearing cheap sunglasses could lead to the following conditions

 Photokeratitis: It is also called sunburn of the eye. A few hours after enjoying the sun, the eye gets painful, gritty and vision becomes blurred. You look like you have had a pretty heavy night on the town as well.

The good news is, with rest and eye drops, your eyes should be back to normal after two or three days.

Cataracts: the normally clear cornea hazes over to cause a cataract. Cataracts grow slowly over many years, dulling vision and eventually making sight very difficult. Although they can be removed, too much sunlight is one way to increase your chances of getting an appointment with an eye surgeon.

Pterygium: UV light can trigger the surface of the eye to grow out of control. Although it is not a cancer, it looks unsightly, can be painful and occasionally obscures sight.

Macular degeneration: the macular is the most sensitive part of the inside of the eye (the retina). Excesses of UV light damages this delicate region and eventually prevents you from seeing clearly.

But when you put on a pair of sunglasses, light reaching your eyes is darker and your pupils open up again. If your sunglasses don’t have UV protection, then harmful UV light will now be flooding through your – now wide open – pupils into the back of your eyes. If your sunglasses don’t provide UV protection, it would be better if you weren’t wearing them at all!

When next you are shopping for sunglasses, make sure that they have UV protection. A dark tint or a high price tag is no guarantee of this either. Individuals who wear contact lenses are least likely to want to wear sunglasses; however, sunglasses are helpful from preventing the drying effect most contact lens wearers get from warm wind; UV protection in contact lenses are the most effective in blocking all UV entering the eye.

Automobile window tints are not a replacement for sunglasses; however, windshields screens are very effective in absorbing both UVA and UVB rays (because of the internal shatter-proof laminate).

You are never too young to protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays. Parents should purchase UV-protected sunglasses for their children with wrap-around design and keep infants’ eyes shaded.

When you’re choosing sunglasses, style can make a difference. Large wrap around shades generally give the best protection as they block out more UV light from the sides. Picking shades with proper UV protection is an absolute must.

See why wearing poor quality sunglasses could be doing you much more harm than good?

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