The majority of us know we need to shield our skin from the damaging effects of the sun with a generous application of the Factor 15, but not many people know that our eyes can be up to ten times more sensitive to UV than our skin, it’s important to keep your eyes healthy and protect them from the potentially damaging effects of ultraviolet light (UV).

In fact, half of the population still doesn't wear sunglasses to protect themselves. 

Fact and fiction often blur when it comes it comes to our eye health, so here are a few sunglasses and eye-based myths that we well and truly debunked. 

Kids Don't Need Sunglasses

It's an incredible fact that we reach up to 80% our eyes' lifetime exposure to UV light by the time we hit 18 – and that makes UV protection during childhood especially important.

Children's eyes have clearer lenses and larger pupils and this makes them significantly more susceptible to sun damage.

This is also exacerbated by the fact that 70% of children in the UK still don't wear sunglasses, despite spending proportionally more time outdoors than adults.

Darker Tinted Lenses Protect You More

It's a widely held belief that darker-tinted lenses give you a greater level of protection, but this isn't necessarily true.

Glasses with clear lenses can also offer UV protection, and darker lenses which don't have an adequate level of UV protection can damage your eyes because they make the pupils dilate (enlarge) so they let in more light. 

Sun Damage to the Eyes is Temporary  

It's true that some sun damage can be temporary, but the majority of damage accumulates over a period of time as a result of continued UV exposure – and this will ultimately become irreversible.

Parts of the eye – such as the lenses – absorb UV light to eventually become yellow, and this can lead to cataracts. Macular degeneration is an age-related ailment also caused by sun damage. 

All Sunglasses Give the Same UV Protection

The UV protection level of sunglasses is measured by an Eye Sun Protection Factor, and the higher the level the more protection you'll get.

Only Wear Sunglasses when the Sun is Out

The weather might be a bit cloudy but that only reduces the amount of UV by 10%, so your eyes need protection all year round. It's also possible to damage your eyes from reflective surfaces such as roads in the mornings and evenings. 

UV exists in the invisible part of the light spectrum, rendering it undetectable to the naked eye. The continuing erosion of the ozone layer also means there's less of a barrier between us and direct exposure to the sun, and is another compelling reason why it's so important to protect ourselves from UV. 

You Can't Wear Sunglasses with Corrective Lenses

Over half of all glasses wearers don't have corrective sunglasses. You can get UV protection added to glasses with a clear lens as well as to contact lenses to ensure a high level of protection, but there's nothing to protect your eyes in the sun more effectively than a pair of sunglasses. 

 

At Discounted Sunglasses we have in stock UV protected sunglasses for men, women and children from some of the biggest names in the fashion industry.