The Harmful Effects of UV Rays on your Eyes

As an optician, I can't believe I haven't written about this sooner! I am still so surprised at the naivety of people when I ask them what they use to protect themselves from the sun. So many of them tell me they don't use anything! And I live in Arizona folks, "Valley of the Sun" where we have sun an average of 301 sunny days a year! No sunglasses?

....are probably the people that have caused the most damage to their eyes and skin mostly from all the sun worshiping that they did when they were young. Baby boomers are one of the age groups to spend more time and money on their health and to combat against aging. As a result, they are one of the age groups most open to health care. But none of us are exempt!

Even knowing what I know about the sun's harmful effects, I still love to head out in it as much as possible. In fact that's why I live where I do! There are certain precautions we can and should take. Use sunscreen with a high spf. If it says 30 spf, you can stay out 30 times longer before the sun will cause damage. But keep in mind, a strong sun can start burning your skin immediately, so 30 times longer is not necessarily that long! For me, it translates to only about 1/2 an hour in direct sunlight. Wear a hat. It protects your head and guards against stroke. If it has a brim, it can also protect your eyes. And, of course, the reason I am writing this hub, sunglasses. Not just any sunglasses either. You need to wear sunglasses with a UV filter of at least 400. Polarized lenses are also great because they help you see better by reducing the glare making our roads and highways a much safer place to be. A side benefit of polarized glasses, is that you squint, therefore, less wrinkles!

...that some cases, cataracts can be linked to uv rays?

Good sunglasses don't come cheaply, but we ARE talking about your eyes. Some inexpensive brands don't even have uv protection. It is pointless to wear sunglasses without it. Those that do have uv protection have varying levels. Better sunglasses have up to 97% protection.You can purchase decent sunglasses starting at $20 but beware of knock offs or name brand suns that are very inexpensive. You are either buying a copy (which may not be all that it is touted to be) or possibly a stolen product (and we don't want to contribute to inflation that way, do we?). There is a wealth of information available to research before purchasing a high ticket product. You can also check which brands, companies have guarantees, warranties and protection plans. Personally, I prefer to buy from a known retail store because they have solid policys to protect your interests. Just keep in mind that your eyes are too valuable to stint on!

The company I work for believes on the importance of sunglasses so much that when we go on missions/clinics to developing countries, we give every recipient, as well as their accompanying family members sunglasses? That computes to about 160,000 pairs a year! That's what I call belief in a product!