Prescription Sunglasses – A Simple Guide

Sunglasses work mainly as protective items and only secondly as decorations. There are however people who cannot buy a pair of sunglasses and enjoy them because they have special eye conditions. This is the case with anyone who suffers from myopia, astigmatism or hyperopia. The solution for such cases is to be found in prescription sunglasses designed to match exactly the same features of the regular glasses but with ultraviolet protection. On the one hand the UVA rays get absorbed in the body through the eye lens, and on the other, the UVB rays cause skin burn.

Prescription sunglasses represent a combination of regular glasses with a dark lens design. There are different types of lenses used for prescription sunglasses, and here we can count polarized lenses, anti-reflective lenses, blue blockers, photochromic lenses and gradient lenses. It is important to mention here, before going on with the description of prescription sunglasses, that you can only order this kind of eyewear based on an ophthalmologist’s recommendation and after careful medical examination. Some health condition such as eye surgery may require total prevention of sun exposure. This is why most often doctors prescribe sunglasses with 99 or 100% protection against UVA and UVB.

Some prescription sunglasses rely on a wraparound design that prevents the UV rays from entering from the sides. The frame makes such protection possible, because a too thin or small frame design will be insufficient. As for the glare, not only designer prescription sunglasses but most sunglasses in general have a special anti-reflective coating that ensures superior reflexion of the light. Mirror-coated lenses are sometimes used for the same purpose of reducing glare. One special mention here is that the design of the prescription glasses also depends on the stage of the eye health condition.

For instance, people who suffer from advanced myopia may require very thick lenses, which could be incompatible with most of the frames. There are other situations when two or more health problems are present, as one person could suffer from both astigmatism and myopia, to give just an example. The doctor should be able to recommend an adequate course of action, with the mention that the design of highly specialized prescription sunglasses is more difficult. Very few companies can provide such designs for low prices; the more complex the prescription sunglasses, the higher the price.