Sunglasses

SunSmart Home

Understanding UV Radiation

Vitamin D and sun protection

Five ways to be SunSmart

Shade
Protetive clothing
Hat
Sunglasses
Suscreen

Sunburn, suntans & solariums

Sunburn
Suntans
Solariums

SunSmart schools

What is a SunSmart School

Early childhood

SunSmart Activities

Workplaces

Sport and Recreation

SunSmart resources

Wear wrap around sunglasses Sunglasses are more than just a fashion item. They protect your eyes from UV radiation, especially if you're exposed to glare from the water, sand or snow. Repeated exposure of the eyes to UV radiation can cause short-term eye complaints and permanent eye damage. Short-term complaints include mild irritations such as excessive blinking, swelling, or difficulty looking at strong light. UV exposure can also cause acute photo keratopathy, which is essentially sunburn of the cornea, like snow blindness or welders' flash burns. In the long term, repeated exposure to UV radiation can cause more serious damage to the eyes. This includes: cataracts (cloudiness of the lens) – around 10% of cataracts are potentially due to UVB radiation exposure to the eye pterygium (pronounced tur-rig-ium), an overgrowth of the conjunctiva onto the cornea cancer of the conjunctiva (the membrane covering the white part of the eye) skin cancer of the eyelids and around the eyes. Choosing sunglasses Sunglasses are more than just a fashion item. They protect your eyes from UV radiation – especially if you're exposed to glare from the water, sand or snow. Sunglasses sold in Australia are required by law to have lenses that meet a high standard of sun protection (AS 1067). Here are some tips for choosing sunsafe sunglasses: Wrap-around styles are best Sunglasses don't have to be expensive to provide good protection Some cheaper brands don't conform to the standard. Always check the swing tag to ensure lenses block out at least 95% of UV radiation Frames should fit closely to the face so that UV rays cannot reach the eyes, particularly at the sides of the face Look for sunglasses that transmit very little UV radiation, such as those labelled UV 400 or EPF (Eye protection Factor) 9 or 10. If you work outdoors and need protection from flying particles, dust, splashing materials and harmful gasses, wear eye protectors that comply with Australian Standard AS/NZS 1337:1992 (eye protectors for industrial applications). If you wear eyeglasses, talk to your optometrist about how to protect your eyes from UV radiation. Some options available are: prescription sunglasses clip-on shades to wear over corrective lenses a UV-protective coating for corrective lenses