Sunglasses (including prescription)

The Problem with UV Light

By the time you are in your 20s, you’ll have absorbed 80% of the the total UV light that your eyes ought to. In other words, there’s lots of UV light out there and we really should be protecting ourselves from it because there’s not much that we can tolerate.

UV light is invisible, high-energy light that can cause damage to the retina (the back layer of your eye that detects light). It can advance cataracts or lead to worse conditions such as macular degeneration.

How Do Sunglasses Help

Sunglasses block UV light, but so do regular prescription glasses thanks to their special coatings. So why do we need sunglasses? Well, a couple of reasons:

Firstly, sunglasses are BIGGER. They cover the whole eye including the sides where light often sneaks in from behind your frame, especially from reflected surfaces. Ever had a tan in the winter? Light reflecting upward from the snow can still carry damaging UV to your eyes from underneath your regular prescription glasses!

Secondly, aside from specifically blocking UV, sunglasses help just by blocking light overall. Even without the UV component, a bright sunny day is still harsh on the eyes, leading to eye strain, fatigue, dryness and headaches.

If you opt for polarized sunglass lenses, the protection is even better as the bright and harsh glares from surface reflections are drastically reduced.

What about Transition Lenses?

If you’re back-and-forth from indoors and outdoors a lot, a photochromatic lens (sometimes called “Transition” lens) lens may be for you. Once you get outside, the ambient UV light changes your lenses from clear to dark.

This is a great option for getting two types of glasses out of just one frame, or if carrying around separate sunglasses just isn’t practical for you.

Remember though that your windshield blocks UV light, so your lenses won’t become dark when driving!

Tip: Take advantage of the current Perfect Pair manufacturer promotion. One pair of Transition lenses gets you a pair of sunglass lenses for just $100. Ask for details.