Ahhhhh June … the start of the summer season when Canadians delight in the great outdoors. To bring awareness to the importance of protecting our eyes against the harmful effects of the sun, we are making June our “Sunglass month”, and showcasing our newest line of sunglasses – the Adidas line. The Adidas join our beautiful line-up of Michael Kors, Ray Ban and Guess sunglasses.
Why is it important to wear sunglasses? The Prevention Keys to sunglass wear are:
- Glare control – When bright light bounces off flat surface, it becomes polarized. The brightness also intensifies and the glare produced is blinding. Glare makes you squint, turn away and prohibits clear vision. Polarized sunlenses eliminate blinding glare, and reduces squinting and eye fatigue.
- Impact protection – Sunglasses made of polycarbonate lenses are thin, light, and effectively absorb UV radiation. It has superior impact strength – up to 10 times more than glass or plastics.
- UV absorption – UV is all around during the day and is a well-known health risk. It is accumulated during a lifetime and contributes to cataract development. It is estimated that 80% of lifetime exposure to UV occurs by age 18. A good pair of sunglasses should allow no transmission below 380 nm .
- High Energy Visible (HEV) Absorption – HEV light is blue light (radiation up to 500nm). HEV’s more serious effects is its connection to macular degeneration, premature skin aging and cancer of the skin around the eyelids. HEV gray and HEV brown polarized lenses provide added protection against High Energy Visual light, aka blue light.
Another important component in a pair of sunglasses is anti-reflection coating. Dark lenses make surface reflection more visible. A reflection of the wearer’s eye on the back lens surface can be annoying. To eliminate this, apply a back surface anti-reflection coating.
Mirror coating not only looks ‘cool’ but offers practical advantages. It reflects intense light at high altitude. Gold mirrors absorb infrared, a component of sunlight that produces heat and makes the eyes behind the sunglasses cool in the warm heat.
Summer is just around the corner and no beach look is complete without the perfect shades. Visit us at Dr. Mei-Ling Chan Optometry in Barrie and see our sunglasses collection. Ask us about sunlens protection. Happy Summer!
