Why wear sunglasses?

With what conditions do sunglasses help?

Wearing good quality sunglasses, those with 100% UVA and UVB protection can help prevent or delay the onset of eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and pterygium.

A cataract is an opacity or clouding of the lens inside the eye, resulting in a distortion of light as it enters.  Prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays is known to contribute to cataracts and wearing sunglasses with UV protection can slow the development of this condition. Some of the symptoms to look out for with cataracts is a gradual decrease in clear vision, hazy vision, increased sensitivity to glare or even double vision.

Similarly, glaucoma is another condition that can be exacerbated by damage to the eyes through exposure to UV light.  Unfortunately, often the symptoms aren’t apparent until the damage is done however, with regular eye examinations we can detect any changes early and help you manage the condition.

Macular degeneration, a condition where your central vision gradually degenerates over time, can be in part attributed to prolonged exposure to UV light.  There are quite a few symptoms to look out for such as having difficulty reading or distinguishing faces, needing increased light to see things, being sensitive to glare or having trouble seeing at night.  As with glaucoma, sometimes the changes are gradual, so regular eye checks will pick up changes early and allow for prompt treatment.

Pterygium, sometimes known as surfer’s eye, is a triangular growth of tissue on the white of the eye.  This condition is a result from long-term exposure to UV light, wind, glare or dust.  This condition can be corrected surgically but preventing a pterygium in the first place is even better.  A good pair of sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV, wind and dust exposure offers the ultimate in preventative care.  Even if you already have a pterygium forming, sunglass wear can preventing it from worsening over time.