All these years I have been damaging my family's eyes

[wishesuponastar]

I stupidly bought $ store sunglasses for all of us year after year and now come to find out they were doing more damage than wearing no sunglasses at all

Just spoke to my optometrist and she said the best sunglasses to get are polarized or ones that have a sticker on them with a UV rating.

The damage I may have created is early cataracts because of more exposure to ultraviolet light-sun exposure So instead of maybe getting cataracts at 70 or 80 we could get them at 60. With $ store type sunglasses your pupil is shaded by the lense but it gets enlarged because it doesn't have UV protection therefore letting more sun into the eye. Oh and you can bring in the proper sunglasses in to your eye care professional and they can verify if they are the proper ones.

I hope I can help others.

 

[spthiveaud]

Thanks for the info! Will keep this in mind when we buy sunglasses!

 

[ceecee]

I did know that. What I didn't think about was going to the tanning beds (many yrs ago) my eye dr told me then those plastic things wouldn't work well. I had to have cataract surgery in my mid 30's. I didn't go that often bt I layed out in the sun all the time with baby oil or Hawaiian Tropic had this stuff called Royal Oil!!!

 

[Zalittle]

Wow, that is good to know. I use polarized glasses and so does my family.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Actually, the sun glasses from my dollar store have a sticker thay says they have uv protection. So maybe not all of them are bad?

 

[wishesuponastar]

I wonder if it's a legal sticker afterall it is the dollar store. Best to take them in to the eye doctor and have them check it out.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Wow..Thanks for sharing this info!

Very interesting and also very scary! I will most definitely have my sunglasses checked out with my next appt and I'm going to schedule it soon! I wear sunglasses constantly due to being more sensitive to the sun and that's not a good thing - I could have been making it worse!

Thanks for the heads up!

Heather

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Oh my! Thanks for sharing and explaining so well.

ETA ~ I just found *this* I'm off to research some more.

ETA again ~ I like this -
"Some people here seem to be missing the point... Sunglasses of any kind cause your pupils to dilate, because they block visible light. Therefore, sunglasses that do not block ultraviolet rays cause more ultraviolet light to enter your eyes than otherwise would. Exposing your eyes to ultraviolet light raises your risk of eye cancer. Hence, if you wear sunglasses that let ultraviolet rays through, you are more at risk of eye cancer than you are if you don't wear sunglasses. This is not rocket science."

Taken from *here*

 

[wishesuponastar]

Your welcome everyone

 

[Gina]

Just a clarification: Polarization is completely unrelated to UV protection.

If you're in doubt about the UV protection of your sunglasses, many optical stores and sunglass kiosks in malls and whatnot have photometers. Just ask them if they'll put your sunglasses under there and test them out for you. Can't hurt to ask!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I have to wear prescription sunglasses, but spent many a summer in regular ones.

Alot of people don't even wear sunglasses, but I see that doesn't really apply to them. Dh has prescription sunglasses, but hardly ever wears them.

Suzanne

 

[indimom]

I stupidly bought $ store sunglasses for all of us year after year and now come to find out they were doing more damage than wearing no sunglasses at all

Just spoke to my optometrist and she said the best sunglasses to get are polarized or ones that have a sticker on them with a UV rating.

The damage I may have created is early cataracts because of more exposure to ultraviolet light-sun exposure So instead of maybe getting cataracts at 70 or 80 we could get them at 60. With $ store type sunglasses your pupil is shaded by the lense but it gets enlarged because it doesn't have UV protection therefore letting more sun into the eye. Oh and you can bring in the proper sunglasses in to your eye care professional and they can verify if they are the proper ones.

I hope I can help others.

Very good advice to share, I've been trying to spread the word among my family and friends also. We only recently started thinking proactively about our long-term vision following an unexpected diagnosis of eye disease in our daughter. (Her retinal speicialist is the one who educated us so we can help preserve her vision. We have taken his advice one step further and are protecting our entire family. )

And if anyone is interested, we were able to find lightly shaded lenses with UV protection for overcast days also. Protection year round.

And just for the record, don't be so hard on yourself. You were working with the information you had available at the time. No one "just knows" this stuff, you have to learn it somewhere.

 

[ilovemk76]

Wow I am surprised at the number of people who did not know about UV and protecting your eyes. Sunglasses are not the only glasses with UV protection. Prescription eyeglasses usually come with UV protection.

Polarization blocks out waves but not UV you need to add UV to them too. Again prescription sunglasses usually come with UV protection.

I never eat anything from the "dollar type" store and would never by sunbock or sunglasses there. My health is worth far more than a dollar.

 

[ceecee]

I never eat anything from the "dollar type" store and would never by sunbock or sunglasses there. My health is worth far more than a dollar.

I'm the same way! No over the counter drugs either or toothpaste.

 

[squirrel]

I also heard that the blue color lense sunglasses are not good to wear. They let in some UV rays.

 

[hiddenj]

So is the risk just cataracts? If so, I need to encourage DH to wear these. He has had multiple eye doctors tell him that cataracts would be the best thing for him.

 

[rock_doctor]

Just a clarification: Polarization is completely unrelated to UV protection.

What i was going to say. You are looking for glasses that block UVa and UVb. All it is is a special dye used to darken the lenses. Most sun glasses made in the last decade should be UV blocking. Polarizing just means the lenses only let in light that has the sine waves going in a certain direction to pass though the lens. So sun light that is bouncing off water, snow, shiny objects on the ground will be reduced by the polarizing glasses. So it can reduce UV in it self but only UV/light reflected on a horizontal surface.