Medical Reasons for Wearing Sunglasses

Contrary to popular belief, sunglasses aren’t only intended for fashion and comfort. They block UV radiation, protect eyes from sunburn, and help prevent cataracts. There are several other medical benefits to wearing sunglasses depending on the medical condition, here is a list of some medical benefits to wearing certain types of sunglasses.

UV Protection

First and foremost, many sunglasses today come with UV protection to shield the wearer’s eyes from harmful UV rays of the sun. UV rays can provoke cataracts, cornea damage, and many other harmful effects to the eye. Today the science of UV protective sunglasses is near perfect, with many brands offering 100% protection from UVA and UVB rays.

Reduce Headaches and Eyestrain

Intense sunlight can cause migraine, tension, and other types of headaches. This can be caused by bright sunlight evoking eyestrain, UV rays from the sun damaging the cornea, and other headache-inducing effects of sunlight. By wearing sunglasses under bright conditions, headaches can be reduced and in some cases even prevented.

Keep Your Eyes Wet

By blocking the sun’s light and heat, sunglasses can help keep the eyes moist by lessening the evaporation of tears. The eyes need moisture to focus and perform correctly, so proper sunglasses can actually improve vision under intensive sunlight.

Medication-Induced Photosensitivity

Medication-induced photosensitivity is an abnormal sensitiveness to natural or unnatural light as a result of a side effect from a prescribed medication. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs have been known to cause photosensitivity. When this happens, normal light conditions become overbearing and irritable, and can induce headaches, pain, and other symptoms. Wearing sunglasses can reduce the side effects of medication-induced photosensitivity by subduing the light that enters the eye.

Reduce Effect of Jet Lag

Jet lag is the disruption of one’s biological rhythms due to plane travel through different time zones. This effect is related to human biology, not psychology like many may assume. Sunglasses are effective in preventing jet lag by tricking the human body in believing that it has not passed through a different time zone. This works by reducing the sunlight that enters the eye and blurring the body’s awareness of time change.

Eases Photophobia

Like photosensitivity, photophobia is an acute sensitivity to normal light conditions, only photophobia is not induced by medications. It is usually a symptom of another disease or infection. Patients that have photophobia typically experience moderate discomfort to severe pain in average light situations. Sunglasses ease the pain and discomfort caused by photophobia by lessening the amount of sunlight that reaches the eyes.

Medical and Industrial Trade Sunglasses

Since many industrial and medical trades utilize tools that emit strong UVA and UVB rays, it’s necessary for most workers in these environments to wear sunglasses for safety purposes. Welding torches emit UV rays, as do laser surgery tools used in hospitals. Surgeons and dentists will commonly use laser safety glasses for themselves and their patients during laser surgery. These glasses and goggles are individually tailored to block certain types of rays that are specific to the trade. Types of tinted lenses for these trades include, welding glasses, arc wielding goggles, blowtorch goggles, and laser safety glasses.