With the onset of the warm season, people begin to wear sunglasses. At the same time, most often, when choosing sunglasses, buyers are guided not by medical indicators, but by the price of the product and the aesthetic criterion. And this is fundamentally wrong. Sunglasses should not only look good on a person’s nose, but also protect their eyes from harmful sunlight. This is their main and mandatory function. Moreover, the types of goggles also differ, and it is worth choosing them wisely, armed with some knowledge. First, it is worth paying attention to the glasses model. If they are narrow, then they are intended for a person with an athletic lifestyle. They adhere tightly to the skin around the eyes, keeping out air and fine dust particles.

If sunglasses have a wide frame that covers most of the face, then these models are suitable for those people who care about their health, not allowing harmful sun radiation to get on the skin around the eyes. This area is most often affected by the appearance of age spots and melanoma. The types of goggles are usually marked with special symbols. It is better to buy them in optics and specialized stores. Then it will be possible to return the purchase if the glasses suddenly do not fit, distort the picture or press on the bridge of the nose (this cannot be allowed, since the blood flow is blocked). Do not wear inappropriate glasses, as this negatively affects the condition of the eyes. This is especially true for people who have vision problems: astigmatism, myopia.

Let’s understand the labeling. If the glasses have the inscription “Blue-blocking”, then they tend to absorb blue rays. When worn, the effect of a yellow-orange world appears. Against such a background, you can clearly see even distant objects, especially if they are in snow or water. Therefore, these types of goggles should be recommended for pilots, hunters, skiers and sailors. If the glasses are marked “Polarized”, then the glasses are polarized. They are ideal for city driving and driving on a sunny day, as they prevent glare and reflections from mirror surfaces (car), asphalt and water. Of course, such glasses can be advised to fishermen.

Glasses with the inscription “Mirror-coated” always have a mirror surface and a wide frame that covers most of the face. They significantly reduce the amount of sunlight, preventing it from reaching the eyes, but at the same time they practically do not protect against ultraviolet radiation. Glasses with the word “Wrapround” usually have wide frames. They surround the eyes, not letting the rays pass along the sides that glasses with regular frames let through. The types of goggles that are accompanied by the words “Gradient” and “Double-Gradient” are characterized by the presence of transitional dimming. Gradients are darker at the top, gradually lightening towards the bottom. They block the sunlight coming from above, while allowing everything to be clearly seen at the bottom. Ideal for driving a car, as they allow you to see the dashboard, and “Double-Gradient” are darkened, on the contrary, from the bottom, which is suitable for sailing or skiing.

Glasses marked “Photochromic” are popularly called “chameleons”. They darken in bright sunlight, and brighten in the dark. If the darkening passes in a minute, then in the dark they brighten about five times longer. Typically, these types of goggles have additional UV protection. To improve the quality of the glasses, they are polished, then the product will be marked “Ground and polished”. And if the sunglasses also have a margin of impact resistance, then you need to pay attention to the “Impact resistant” marking. If the sunglasses are marked “Darkness”, it means that they are darkened. At the same time, one should not think that the degree of dimming at least somehow affects the absorption of ultraviolet radiation.  

For glasses to protect against radiation, you need to look for an indication of the absorption of “UF” up to 400 nanometers. Then the protection against radiation will be 100%, while the glasses can also be accompanied by protection from infrared radiation, that is, from heat. It is also a protective measure, but no convincing evidence of its extreme usefulness has yet been found. In any case, you need to choose such an important thing as sunglasses, wisely, carefully, so as not to damage your eyes. Long-term wearing of glasses with a shifted focus, those glasses that somewhere press, and somewhere press, is fraught with the development of various visual deviations. Plastic glasses never provide UV protection, and only glasses with glass lenses can provide this degree of protection.