Along with your child’s new glove, bat, shoes and uniform, are their eyes prepared with sports safety glasses?  It’s estimated that 35 percent of the 2.4 million eye injuries that occur each year happen to children under the age of 17.  Many of these injuries occur during contact sports or sports involving fast moving balls or objects.  Children who wear glasses should have a separate pair for sports.  Their every day pair can actually pose a greater hazard to their eyes than wearing none.  Frame nose pads can be pushed into the nasal corner of the eye—lenses may shatter, etc.  A frame that meets ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards for safety along with tough, impact resistant polycarbonate lenses is not only affordable but essential to ensure eye safety while your child (or you!) is engaged in sports.

Improve your golf Game!

Imagine lining up for a putt and seeing all of the green’s variances. Sunglasses with specialized polarizing filters and tints specific to enhancing contrast on the golf course are available in prescription or non-prescription frames.  Titleist golf ball manufacturer teamed up with Nike sport sunglasses and developed a purple tint that enables golfers to navigate the greens and makes the ball “pop” put even while in flight.

Fishing/Boating

Glare is Gone. 

For many the warm weather provides opportunities to spend time at any one of a number of beautiful lakes and rivers in our area. Whether it’s for a day of boating or fishing, polarized sun lenses are not only sunscreen for your eyes but also strain and fatigue reducing. The polarizing filter removes surface glare from the water enabling you to actually see into the water below. The ultraviolet protection offered should be no less than 100 percent UVA and UVB, easily checked and verified by your eye doctor’s office. All too often I have had patients come in with their inexpensive sunglasses bearing a sticker that says “100% UV Protection” only to measure them and discover there is none or very little. Remember — you get what you pay for and chances are that if they are less than $30, they don’t have UV protection. You may think that’s not a big deal, but ask your eye doctor. Lenses that have a dark tint require your pupils to dilate (open up) and so if the lens doesn’t have UV protection — you are now bombarding the inside of your eyes with UV light. UV is the leading cause of cataracts and retinal disease.  Better to wear NO sunglasses than sunglasses without adequate UV protection because at least your pupil constricts in an effort to block out the harmful UV rays.

Increase your Reaction Time While Driving!

With the days getting longer as we head into summer, more driving is done during the daylight hours. It used to be that polarized lenses were the best recommendation for drivers. However with variable lighting conditions, sometimes the dark polarized lenses are simply too dark and can instead reduce acuity while driving.  Transition lenses — that are clear indoors and darken into sunglasses while outdoors — are great for general wear — but fall short behind the windshield of your car. The reason being, the chemical that causes the lenses to darken responds to UV (ultra-violet) light. When you are driving in your car, the windshield absorbs some of the UV light and therefore your lenses do not darken sufficiently. They also do not contain polarizing filters, which eliminate surface glare and bounce-back glare — from the road and from other cars. Recently introduced is my new personal favorite lens for multiple lighting conditions, most especially driving. DriveWear lenses are capable of sensing and reacting to varying light conditions both outside and behind the windshield of the car. From bright sunlight accompanied by intense, blinding glare, to overcast inclement conditions, DriveWear lenses provide the wearer with the appropriate visual solution. DriveWear lenses provide glare protection through polarization and enhance and protect vision through photochromics which respond to both visible and UV light. When it is very bright — they darken — when it is overcast they lighten and change color to enhance contrast and depth perception. The sooner you see an object in your way — the sooner you are able react to avoid it!

Consider Contact Lenses!

Try on a new look for spring by putting your glasses aside and diving into the world of contact lenses.  More than ever before, soft contact lens options are available for patients with astigmatism and for those who require bifocal correction. The latest lenses are designed utilizing laser technology and allow for sharp comfortable vision. Additionally improvements in lens materials, such as silicone hyrdogel, even enable patients who suffer from dry-eye syndrome an opportunity to become contact lens wearers. Daily disposables are the ultimate in convenience requiring no cleaning regimens and ensuring the safest in eye health conditions. Most often recommended for first time wearer and teens, it’s also a great option for the occasional use wearer — put them on for an evening and then throw them away!

Continued advances in technology have lead to many exciting new product options that enhance your vision safely and comfortably! So be sure to discuss these and other new product options with your eyecare professional on an annual basis!  

Susan Halstead, ABOC, FNAO is a NYS and Nationally Licensed Optician at Family Vision Care Center on Lake Avenue in Saratoga Springs.  Susan may be reached for questions or comments at www.saratogasight.com