First, though, a bit about why you should always wear sunglasses.

Just as the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can damage your skin, they can also harm the lens and cornea of your eye. Long term (as in years — the sun’s damage is cumulative) exposure to UV radiation increases your odds of getting cataracts and has been linked to macular degeneration, a degenerative (though treatable) disease of the macula that is essential for sharp vision.

And while you mainly think of sunlight as it travels from the sun, through the air and into your eyes, just as important to guard against is sunlight that bounces off of highly-reflective surfaces such as water, sand and pavement.

Sunglasses play a pivotal role in shielding the eye’s fragile tissue from UV radiation. Like sunscreen, sunglasses should be worn whenever you’re outdoors, year round.

Look for sunglasses with complete UVA/UVB protection
Choose sunglasses that provide full protection from UV light. Ask one of our opticians or make sure that the sunglasses clearly state one or more of the following:

• Lenses block 99% or 100% of UVB and UVA rays
• Lenses meet ANSI Z80.3 blocking requirements
• Lenses feature UV 400 protection

Choosing the right hue
The coating that blocks UV protection is clear, so a darker lens doesn’t always indicate better protection than a lighter one. Hue does play an important role, however, in color perception. Gray, green or brown lenses minimize color distortion, while lenses that are yellow or rose in color may make it difficult to detect changes in traffic light colors.

Polarized lenses for added clarity
While polarized lenses have nothing to do with UB protection, lenses with this feature can reduce glare by filtering out the reflected sunlight that bounces off of surfaces like pavement and water. The downside is these lenses can make it hard to read your cell phone, GPS device or liquid crystal displays like on dashboards and ATM machines.

Quality is key
You’ll notice that we only carry brand-name sunglasses at Spex Expressions. While you may experience some protection with discount brands, consistency is a concern with lower-priced glasses. Your best bet is to buy a trusted brand from a certified eye care practice, like Spex Expressions.

If you have any other questions about sunglasses, be sure to give the eye health experts at Spex Expressions a call at (815) 758-1039 or visit us at www.SpexExpressions.com. Our trained opticians would be happy to answer any of your questions.

They’re a clouding of the lens inside the eye. They’re detected during a normal eye exam and are somewhat common with adults over the age of 40 (and increasing as we age). As they are so common and tend to progress slowly, your eyecare physician should monitor their progression as you grow older.

One of the first symptoms of a cataract can be glare, especially when looking into lights at night. They may appear as haze, but actually they represent a loss of clarity of vision or loss of sharp perception of images. It’s hard to remember what good vision is like compared with gradual acuity loss that occurs with a cataract. This is especially true when cataracts develop in both eyes at the same rate — there’s no good standard of comparison in this case.

Cataracts can be successfully treated in about 98% of cases. In fact, cataract surgery is the most commonly-performed surgery in the United States with an average age for cataract surgery of 73 to 75 years old. During surgery, a small incision is made, a tiny instrument is inserted to break up and remove the lens, then a intraocular lens is replaced in the eye.

There is now the technology to even insert a lens that has progressive properties. When this type of lens is used, the patient often does not have to wear corrective eyeglasses — the bifocal corrective lenses are actually integrated into the prosthetic lens in your eye!

The surgery is normally not painful and takes 20 minutes or less to perform. Recovery begins immediately, but you must have someone to drive you home from the surgical center. You’ll be given a pair of sunglasses to wear when you leave — wear them even if it is not sunny out.

You’ll also have a protective shield placed over your eye after the procedure. Your physician will give you instructions on the recovery process and answer any questions you may have.

Interested in learning more about cataracts and corrective surgery? Contact Dr. Frank or Dr. Marczewski at Spex Expressions at (81) 758-1039 or by visiting www.SpexExpressions.com/cataracts.