Cadillacs and Cataracts

All this talk about sun exposure and the benefits as well as properly protecting yourself from the dangers has been mostly talk about skin exposure. While we believe some sun exposure is great for the human body and that we should allow some of it to absorb into our skin, we also believe that protecting ones eyes should be a priority.


Walking outside into a bright sunny sky can feel really good on your face. It can also cause you to be temporarily blind. Long-term exposure to UV rays on the eyes can lead to cataracts and other eyesight damaging disabilities.


Many people enjoy wearing sunglasses on a day-to-day basis for pure fashion sense. I see them around town trying to look super cool or hip. Many of your modern day hipsters are wearing bright colored sunglasses that are usually given away during promotions.


The art and style of wearing sunglasses has been around since the early heyday of Hollywood. Movie stars popularized the use of sunglasses and the mainstream culture soon caught on.


Eventually, major manufacturers began mass-producing high-end sunglasses. Marketing and technology of new and improved visual experiences soon came along and the trend began.


High-end sunglasses usually come with a price for a few reasons. They have perfected the art of the shaped or curved lens without the effect of visual distortion. This has taken a few years and a few of the larger, well known companies have the patents on the technology.


Polarized lenses came about in the 1980’s, which allowed fishermen to see clearer through the glare off of the water. Today polarized lenses are marketed as high-end sunglass features that are often time unnecessary for the casual sunglass wearer.


But the real problem with sunglasses isn’t forgetting to wear them at all. The problem is wearing a pair of sunglasses made in a place like China. A pair of sunglasses that doesn’t have the proper amount of UVA protection can be more harmful than wearing none at all.


Protecting your vision from the sun’s rays goes further than just providing a shade. You need a proper lens that is actually capable of filtering out the harmful rays from the sun.


When I see hipsters wearing a cheap pair of sunglasses, all I can think is how much they are potentially damaging their eyesight.


What happens when you wear a pair of these is two fold. First, the glasses are tinted to allow the pupil to dilate. Instead of having to squint, you are now allowed to relax when you walk into the sunshine. The pupils that would normally close down to allow less light through are now shaded. Once they are shaded they begin to dilate. The major problem here is that the lens doesn’t block the harmful rays from entering into your pupils.


Now that your eyes are more open to the harmful rays the cheap sunglasses cause more UVA and UVB rays to penetrate the areas of your eyes that they were actually intended to protect.


The bottom line here is don’t buy cheap sunglasses manufactured in some unknown, far away land where we don’t know what their manufacturing processes are. I only buy high quality eyewear from a trusted company with known contacts inside the United States. My eyes are worth more than a cheap pair of sunglasses.

Leave a Comment


fourteen + 13 =