Contact lenses with UV protection review
It is now a proven fact that UV rays badly affect your
eyes. Exposure to sunlight can cause cataracts and other
nasty eye diseases.
We all know about how important
sunglasses are, but did you know that some of
the modern contact lenses also offer you UV protection?
The first contact lens that protects your eyes from UV
rays was Precision UV by Wesley Jessen. It proved to work
and later most contact lens manufacturers started making
their contacts “UV safe”. Both soft and RGP
contact lenses now come with UV protection.
How good are contact lenses at protecting your eyes
from the sun?
They
are pretty good. Most UV blocking lenses can block 90-95%
of harmful UV rays. However the lens only can protect
the aria it covers. Soft contact lens covers most of the
cornea, while RGP lenses only protect about 60% of the
cornea. RGP lenses are smaller.
So it is recommended to wear sunglasses over UV blocking
lenses, to give your eyes most possible protection. Also
the UV blocking lenses can’t block the glare and
your eyes might hurt on a very sunny day.
Contact lenses that offer best UV protection are Acuvue
by Johnson and Johnson. 1 Day Acuvue, Acuvue 2, Acuvue
2 Colors, Acuvue
Toric and Acuvue Advance
lenses offer high UVA and UVB Blocking.
Bausch and Lomb and Ciba Vision don’t include UV
blocking materials in their contact lenses.
Do people who wear sunglasses benefit from UV blocking
contact lenses?
Yes, if you spend a lot of time outside, UV blocking
contact lenses offers additional protection. Even the
best sunglasses don’t offer 100% protection. A lot
of reflected sunlight can enter your eyes despite the
sunglasses and it can damage your eye
health.
Combination of sunglasses and UV blocking contact lenses
is the best possible protection for people who spend a
lot of time outside under the sun.
