You may be the type of person who never leaves the house without your sunglasses during the warmer months. Not only are they great protection from the sun’s glaring rays, but they’re also quite the accessory these days as well. And if you’re like a lot of people, you probably own more than one pair and scout the sunglass display in the local markets every time you walk by. Well, good for you for taking care of your eyes! But did you know that sunglasses are just important in the winter as they are during the rest of the year? It’s true, and here’s why.
Sunglasses actually play a big role in good eye health. The UV rays from the sun are very strong – all year round – even though they don’t always feel that way on our faces and bodies, especially fingers and toes during the chilling winter months. But nevertheless, they are and we need to protect ourselves – eyes included – from their harmful affects.
It’s actually very serious business, more serious than most people realize. Over time, UV rays can in fact, lead to diseases of the eye like cataracts (opaquacity in the membrane covering the pupil causing a decrease in vision), macular degeneration (discoloration of the cornea), or even cancer, that may require surgery or worse yet, be irreversible. And if your eyes are normally sensitive to bright light and the sun’s rays anyway, you may be headed for even more trouble if you don’t wear sunglasses.
You know how bright the sun can be when it reflects off the snow and hits your eyes – it hurts, right? Add in the ultraviolet element and there you have it. But by simply putting on a pair of sunglasses, you can not only avoid the discomfort of the sun’s bright and harmful UV rays reflected on your eyes, but you’ll also be preventing the possible onset of eye distress such as disease as well. So you see, sunglasses work double-duty (or even triple-duty if they compliment your appearance – wink, wink).
And don’t forget the kids. Even though children look adorable and make us smile when they put on a pair of cute, child-sized sunglasses, their eyes actually need protection the same as everyone else’s. So don’t hesitate to pick them up a pair the next time you’re passing by the kiddie styles and you hear those three little words – “I want that!” because you’ll actually be doing a good thing in consideration of their eye health.