Sunglasses and Safety Glasses

Eye injuries may happen unexpectedly. It's also a good idea to think about protecting your eyes. Getting a foreign body embedded in your eye can result in scarring and infection that may result in permanent vision loss. You can care for your eyes by putting on protective eyewear when playing sports, or using power tools. Dr. Thompson has observed that grinding metal is particularly dangerous and should never be done without eye protection.

Wearing sunglasses is high on the list of ways you can care for your vision. Wearing sunglasses with ultraviolet (UV) protection helps slow the development of cataracts and growths on the eyeball, such as pinguecula . A cataract is an eye condition in which the lens of the eye becomes clouded, impairing vision. Pinguecula can disturb the tear film resulting in eye irritation and may have an adverse affect on the appearance of the eyes. Sunglasses also help protect your eyes from airborne particles and the drying effects of the wind. The lens in a childs eye blocks less UV light than the lens in the eye of an adult. Thus, children benefit as much or more than adults from sunglasses.

Take time to visit an eye care professional to learn more about how you can protect your vision, and improve your quality of life.