Watch your eyes
Be sure to get the facts about which type of sunglasses offer the best protection
With so many types of eye protection available, how do you know what to trust?
It’s important to wear good sunglasses, but there are so many different types, it’s hard to pick the right pair.
When it comes to eye safety, it’s best not to second guess, but check with the experts — optometrists. Dr. Patrick (Pat) Kean is an optometrist in Gander, who says the best protection for eyes is brimmed hats and sunglasses or transitional lens.
“You don’t need a tint,” Kean said in a phone interview. He explained that dark lenses don’t mean the eyes are protected because it’s the coating in the lens that protects the eye.
The best way to pick out a pair of sunglasses is to look for one that has a sticker offering 100 per cent protection from the sun.
“Wrap-around sunglasses work better than straight sunglasses because they give you the exposure wrapped around the eye itself, you don’t get back-reflections,” Kean added, explaining it’s possible that UV rays can reflect off the inside of sunglasses and into the eye, damaging it.
Other forms of eye protection have been introduced to contact lenses and transitional lenses for eyeglasses, with varying degrees of success.
“You can wear contact lenses that actually have some UV protection in them,” Kean said. “Typically, they are not 100 per cent, and ... even if they were 100 per cent, they are only protecting pretty much the cornea. They are still not protecting the conjunctiva that surrounds it or the eyelid as well.”
Transitional lenses have become popular with the younger generations and are widely used. Kean said people find it convenient because they do not have to carry a second pair of sunglasses or clip-on lenses.
“Transitions is a product that has been available for a number of years and the benefit of lenses is that they turn dark when you go outside, and it clears up when you go inside,” he explained.
“There are crystals in the lens material itself that react to UV in the light itself that darkens it, and it provides 100 per cent protection from ultraviolet light as well,” Kean added. “Patients of mine who use that are quite happy with them. The only time they don’t turn quite as dark for some people is when they are in a car because the windshield has some ultraviolet protection — not 100 per cent — which kind of slows down and reduces the reaction that the crystals have in the lens itself.”
According to Kean, auto glass does offer some protection, but it is not perfect. Even tinted car windows don’t provide 100 per cent protection against UV rays.
Dr. Trudy Metcalfe, an optometrist in Mount Pearl, stresses the importance of teaching children about eye protection.
“Everyone is vulnerable to UV exposure — definitely infants and children, who have a sensitive visual system,” Metcalfe said. “So, we would encourage even children and infants to wear sun protection, even when you cannot see the sun ... When we get older, we can be more susceptible to UV light, as well.”
Metcalfe said UV rays can hurt eyes, regardless of the weather or the season, and people shouldn’t ignore UV rays because the cellular damage to the eye is permanent.
“We have ways of fixing some of the issues that we see that cause damage,” Metcalfe said. “For example, if you were to develop a cataract, which oftentimes can be made worse by UV light, the cataract can be removed and can be corrected, but the damage done cannot be reversed.
“There are varying levels at which the sunglasses block UV rays,” Metcalfe added. “If you are looking for glasses, you want to look for a pair of sunglasses which can block both UVA rays and UVB rays from penetrating the eye.”
According to the World Health Organization’s website UVB rays (from the sun) are fully absorbed by the cornea, while UVA rays pass through the surface layers to the lens.