Every year on June 27, we here at All About Eyes celebrate National Sunglasses Day! It’s a time for us to remind our patients (and ourselves) about the benefits of wearing sunglasses while outside (year-round). Now that the weather has finally warmed up and the rainy season is behind us, we’re good to go for getting our sunnies on! We have a large selection of sunglasses for adults and children that meet the standards of protection against ultra-violet rays, so please stop into our office to get a pair.

Sunglasses help to protect our eyes from the sun’s harmful rays. You may have heard of UV-A and UV-B rays. Those are two different types of ultra-violet rays, both are invisible and both are very harmful to the eyes. UV-A rays can penetrate to the back of the eye and may cause macular degeneration problems later in life. Macular degeneration affects the center of vision by blocking it out. UV-B rays can cause sunburn on the front of the eyes, namely on the cornea and the lens. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggest that people use wrap-around sunglasses to prevent the harmful rays from sneaking in on the sides of the sunglasses too. It is worth noting that in the United States, most sunglasses sold meet the standards of blocking out both UV-A and UV-B rays.

The sun can damage eyes in other ways, too. Prevent Blindness, an organization devoted to raising awareness on visual impairments notes these other concerns with ultra-violet rays:

• • Cataracts: A film that forms over your lens, causing vision problems.
  • Pterygium: Tissue growth on the cornea.
  • Basal Cell Carcinoma: The most common type of eyelid (skin) cancer.

So shade your eyes and protect them when you’re outside!