The Benefits of Sunglasses to Prevent Eye Disease

Not a few people who actually feel uncomfortable using sunglasses. The reasons also vary, one of which is afraid of being considered strange or pretentious style. In fact, sunglasses have an important role to protect the eyes from the dangers of the sun. Morning sunlight is good for health. But, another case with sunlight at noon. The strongest ultraviolet (UV) radiation occurs between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. UV radiation can endanger eye health, so the eyes need protection in the form of sunglasses.

Prevents various eye diseases

For the sake of maintaining eye health, you should begin to put aside the shame in wearing sunglasses. Because the UV radiation that enters the eye without protection can cause various eye diseases, such as pterygium, cataracts, pingueculae, photokeratitis, and photoconjunctivitis.

• Cataract

Cataract is a vision disorder that causes vision to become cloudy. Cataract sufferers will feel blurred vision and are sensitive to blinding light. Generally, cataracts occur due to aging, where when entering the age of 40 years, the protein in the lens of the eye begins to be susceptible to damage. Exposure to UV light can be one of the risk factors for accelerating the occurrence of cataracts.

• Pterygium

This condition is characterized by the presence of a yellowish or reddish membrane tissue that grows on the whites of the eyes. In some cases, this tissue grows into the cornea. The growth of pterygium can be triggered by frequent exposure to UV rays and dust. Pterygium generally occurs in someone who spends a lot of time in the sun, lives in warm climates and often ignores wearing sunglasses. This growing tissue is not cancerous, but if it is increasingly disrupting or already covering the cornea and disturbing vision, surgery is needed to remove it.

• Pinguekula

This eye disorder is characterized by the presence of yellow bumps on the conjunctiva (the thin and thin membrane lining the white surface of the eyeball) near the cornea. Pingueculae often resemble pterygium. The cause is the same, which is often the eyes are exposed to sunlight without using sunglasses.

• Photoconjunctivitis and photokeratitis

Exposure to ultraviolet light, whether natural or artificial, which occurs over a long period of time results in the cornea experiencing severe damage or burning. This condition is called photokeratitis. A person affected by photokeratitis will experience dizziness, persistent and watery eyes, swollen eyelids, red eyes, or temporary loss of vision. Whereas photoconjunctivitis is a condition in which the conjunctiva of the eye becomes inflamed after several hours of exposure to sunlight, and can be very painful.

Choosing and Wearing Sunglasses

Choosing sunglasses is not just for style. You also have to consider the type and effectiveness in protecting from UV rays. Good sunglasses are able to block 100% of UV radiation. Choose a dark colored lens with a uniform lens darkness. But it must be remembered, dark colored lenses are not a guarantee if the sunglasses are effective in warding off harmful UV rays. Today there are also many sunglasses with green, blue or pink lenses. This lens does not block more UV light, but can be an option for athletes because of the sharper contrast. Then choose large sunglasses. The bigger the better, because it can prevent UV rays from entering the eye from the side. From the type of lens, several types of sunglasses that you can choose, include:

• Glasses with polarizing lenses.
• Polycarbonate-lensed glasses.
• Glasses with lenses block blue light from the electronics.
• Photochromic-lensed glasses.
• Glasses with gradient lenses.

Use sunglasses when you move directly in the sun, when playing at the beach, and exercise. The thing to remember, price does not always guarantee the effectiveness of glasses in blocking UV rays. A low-priced sunglasses is as effective as expensive if it has 100% protection against UV rays. But it is better to buy sunglasses on optical that are trusted or consult an eye doctor first, to get sunglasses that are suitable and have good quality. The eye is a very important sense organ. Take care of your eye health properly and use sunglasses that have UV protection, so as not to cause problems in the eyes later on. In fact, teaching your child to use sunglasses early on also needs to be done to maintain their eye health.