The Cost Of Wearing Cheap Sunglasses

When you go shopping for sunglasses, you face endless choices. While decisions like which brand, style, color and shape come down to a matter of personal taste, the eye doctors at Berks Eye in Reading, PA can help make the choice easier in at least one respect: you should always look for great lenses. In this blog, our team of experts explains why choosing high-quality lenses is an important part of protecting the long-term health of your eyes and vision.

The Least Expensive Sunglasses Have Lousy Lenses

In many cases, the least expensive shades offer you the least amount of protection from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays, which are known to damage the eyes. Believe it or not, wearing sunglasses with non-protective lenses may wind up doing more harm than not wearing sunglasses at all. That is because the darkness from these shades causes your pupils to dilate and the incoming UV rays can enter at a higher intensity, causing extra damage to the retina.

The Harms of Not Properly Protecting Your Eyes

Over time, UV ray exposure can have unfortunate consequences for your eyes. UV exposure has been linked to the development of macular degeneration, cataracts, pterygium (growths on the eye) and photokeratitis. Moreover, the skin immediately around your eye is especially delicate and susceptible to skin cancer. Covering the eye area with sunglasses can lower your risk for all of these conditions.

What to Look for When Shopping

The best way to protect your eyes is to find sunglasses that advertise that they block 100% of UVA and UVB rays. A label that says “UV 400” indicates that it keeps out all ultraviolet light. Beyond that, our doctors encourage you to look for sunglasses that wrap around the sides of your eyes or fit snuggly against your face. Because UV rays enter from not only the front of your face but also the sides, blocking the peripheral rays provides more protection to your eyes and skin.

Visit Berks Eye for Help Choosing Great Sunglasses

Berks Eye features one of the most impressive optical shops in eastern Pennsylvania. Our staff is happy to help you find sunglasses that are both fashionable and wholly protective against UV rays. If you wear prescription lenses, we can also assist you to get sunglasses that correct your refractive errors for shielded, crisp vision. Contact us or Come visit our office or call (610) 372-0712 for more information.