Sunglasses

Protection with designer fashion

Here at Focus Medical Eye Centre we know how important it is to protect your eyes. It is the harmful UV radiation from sunlight that causes sunburn and skin cancer. But did you know UV can also harm your eyes?

Extended exposure to the sun’s UV rays has been linked to significant eye problems, including cataracts, macula degeneration, pterygia and pingueculae (thickened skin on the whites of the eyes). You can also get ‘sunburn’ to the surface of the eye causing symptoms of discomfort, blurred vision and light sensitivity. This is commonly known as ‘snow blindness’.

Protecting your eyes from UV

To protect your eyes from harmful solar radiation, you should wear sunglasses that block 100% UV whenever you are outdoors in daylight. Your eyes need protection even on cloudy days because the sun’s damaging UV rays can penetrate cloud cover.

Did you know?

Not all sunglasses block 100% of UV rays – beware of cheap sunglasses

Children need UV protection too

The risk of damage to our eyes and skin from solar UV radiation is cumulative — meaning the danger continues to grow the more time you spend in sunlight throughout your lifetime.

With this in mind, it’s especially important for kids to protect their eyes from the sun. Children generally spend much more time outdoors than adults. In fact, because children tend to spend significantly more time outdoors than most adults, up to half of a person’s lifetime exposure to UV radiation can occur by age 18. Also, children are more susceptible to eye damage from UV rays because the lens inside a child’s eye is clearer than an adult lens, enabling more UV to penetrate deep into the eye.

Make sure your children’s eyes are protected from the sun with good quality sunglasses or photochromatic lenses (these automatically change colour in sunlight ) when they go outdoors. Also, encourage your child to wear a hat on sunny days to further reduce UV exposure.

Quality Sunglasses

We would only recommend and stock quality sunglasses that block 100% of UV radiation. That is why we are proud to stock Maui Jim which achieved the Seal of Recommendation from The Skin Cancer Foundation which is a worldwide known symbol of safe and effective sun protection.

Ask about prescription sunglasses as we have a wide range of sunglasses that can be made to your prescription including Maui Jim and Ray-Ban.