FASHION Magazine

With beach season right around the corner, you’ve probably picked up enough sunscreen to cover the cast of The Hills for a month, but you should also take your eyes into account when shopping for sun care.

Eyes have little natural protection from the sun. Squinting and constriction of the pupil help screen out the light, but they don’t help on cloudy days, when UV is still a concern. “Even if you have a dark complexion or dark-coloured eyes, your eyes are still very, very vulnerable to ultraviolet damage,” says Dr. Ralph Chou, associate professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry and resident expert on eye protection and the ocular effects of sunlight. “The colour of the skin due to the melanin pigment gives you some protective effect—that doesn’t exist in the eye.”

If you tend to wear sunglasses every day during the summer months but ditch them when winter arrives, you’ve probably already experienced one of the most common effects of UVB: snow blindness. It’s the eye’s equivalent of sunburn and leaves you with pain and light sensitivity.

As with the skin, both UVA and UVB are damaging with long-term exposure. UVA is known to be a secondary cause of malignant melanoma in the eye, and both types of UV can cause cataracts. UVB, which causes the superficial layer of the lens to go opaque, gets the most complaints from patients who experience scattering of light. UVA, on the other hand, will cause the lens of the eye to yellow over time, interfering with your colour perception.

While these cases are rare and tend to occur more often in people over age 50, it is never too soon to take precautions. Chou stresses the importance of getting your eyes checked regularly by an optometrist. Also, check in with your pharmacist, as many drugs have photosensitizing or phototoxic effects that cause your eyes to be more light-sensitive.

As for protecting your peepers, the question is, what should you gravitate toward when ogling a wall of sunglasses?

“Most people can do with what we call general-purpose sunglasses,” says Chou. These have “lenses that will block the UV as well as reduce brightness to the point where it’s comfortable to see in very bright conditions,” he says. “Definitely look for 100 per cent UVB protection and ideally 100 per cent UVA as well.”

Chou strongly suggests lenses tinted in grey, grey-green or brown, as these shades do not affect colour vision, whereas some, like orange and yellow, interfere with viewing traffic lights and are not safe to wear while driving. As for the frames, they should be well made and fit snugly so sunlight doesn't sneak in. It’s also important that frames are large enough to block light at the sides, which means your best choice is also your most stylish: oversized shades.

Shown: Bottega Veneta Spring 2008. Photography by Peter Stigter

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