Yesterday was the first day of spring in the Lower Mainland meaning the promise of warm sunny days is on the horizon. Everyone knows to protect themselves from harmful sun rays but do you really know why?
When you say sun most people jump at the thought of warmth and bright sunny days but solar radiation in the form of UVA & UVB rays can be harmful for your eyes. According to the American Optometric Association the longer your eyes are exposed to solar radiation, the greater the risk of developing cataracts or macular degeneration later in life. This blog isn’t meant to create scare mongering however if I can get you to think about protecting your family’s eyes from the sun then that’s a win.
Eye health is sometimes overlooked or taken for granted. Personally, we all do it. We stare at the sun for too long or we buy dollar store sunglasses that provide no UVA/UVB protection. It’s hard to cough up hard earned dollars for something that we often times misplace. It’s also hard to concern ourselves with something that will benefit us in the future like saving for retirement or even starting life insurance – I get it.
But purchasing a good set of sunglasses won’t cost as much as monthly payments into your RRSPs and I guess maybe something to consider is that you only have one set of eyes. Something as simple as wearing sunglasses will protect your eyes when you are older from greater risk. It really seems pretty simply and straight forward.
Best sunglasses for protecting your eyes:
- block out 99 to 100 percent of both UV-A and UV-B radiation;
- screen out 75 to 90 percent of visible light;
- have lenses that are perfectly matched in color and free of distortion and imperfection; and
- have lenses that are gray for proper color recognition.
*sourced from www.aoa.org
So enjoy those blooms but make sure you’re protecting your eyes while doing so!