Tips for Safer Sunglasses 08.
Written by chameleonfridays on August 10th, 2008Follow the guidelines from the College of Optometrists for the best protection:
- Wear good quality, dark sunglasses and check that they are up to standard. Dr Blakeney says: “Good sunglasses needn’t be expensive, you can buy perfectly adequate protective sunglasses from high street stores, but just follow a few guidelines.”
- Make sure sunglasses carry the ‘CE’ Mark and British Standard BS EN 1836:1997, which means they offer a safe level of UV protection.
- Do a simple quality test before buying. Hold the sunglasses at arm’s length and tilt them slightly. Then focus on an object in the distance, move them up and down and see if there is any distortion, especially at the lens’ edges. If the lenses are high quality, there should be no movement.
- Don’t confuse the shade of the lens with their ability to filter UV rays. Dark sunglasses may still allow UV rays to enter the eye and can be more harmful than wearing no glasses at all, because they cause the pupil of the eye to dilate, which allows more UV rays to enter.
- When buying sunglasses to use when driving, make sure they are in the filter category of 0-3. A lens carrying a filter category of 4 will be too dark for safe driving. Never wear sunglasses while driving at night or in poor light.
- Avoid scratches, as a scratched lens will scatter the sun’s light and could cause glare around the area of the scratch. Avoid wear and tear by using a case, cleaning them with a mild detergent and water or a lens cleaner and drying them with a microfibre cloth – not paper, which can scratch the lens.
- Don’t discard sunglasses in the winter. The sun’s UV rays can be present in high enough levels to warrant protection throughout the year and the glare can be more noticeable as the sun’s lower in the sky.
For help on choosing a suitable pair of glasses see Tips for Sunglasses.
