Do I need to wear dark glasses and what is the difference between ordinary lenses and polarized and photochromic ones? Black glasses

Ophthalmologists are sounding the alarm: it is better not to wear glasses at all than to look at the world through lenses of dubious quality. How to choose sunglasses that will not harm your eyes and will serve faithfully for many years? The correspondent of the portal decided to figure out what the darkness of plastic and glass lenses hides.

Ultraviolet is useful and dangerous

In such a responsible matter as eye health, one cannot do without a competent commentary. Therefore, we turned to a specialist - an ophthalmologist of the Department of Laser Eye Microsurgery of the 10th City Clinical Hospital Valentina Guryanova.

Sunlight consists of visible rays, ultraviolet and infrared. Visible range allows you to distinguish colors, infrared radiation is heat that can be felt. But a person can neither feel nor see ultraviolet. Nevertheless, it is important for all living organisms and it is from it that the eyes should be protected.

Ultraviolet (UV) is radiation that has a wavelength between 275 and 400 nm. Depending on the wavelength, it is divided into three types: UVA, UVB and UVC. The most severe UVC radiation is almost completely absorbed by the ozone layer. Therefore, a person is more affected by UVA and UVB.

In general, ultraviolet radiation is beneficial to humans. It increases the tone of the sympathetic-adrenal system (the body's adaptation system), promotes the development of immunity, increases the secretion of a number of hormones (it has been proven that mood improves under the influence of solar radiation).

Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, histamine is formed - a substance that has a vasodilating effect, vitamin D is produced, which strengthens the musculoskeletal system.

“You should not completely hide your eyes from the sun, since ultraviolet radiation is necessary for the eyes, as well as for the whole body. Under the action of UV in the eye, blood circulation and metabolism are stimulated, muscle function improves,” the ophthalmologist emphasizes.

What should you protect your eyes from?

It is necessary to protect the eyes when they are exposed to intense radiation for a long time.

Everyone knows that you can't look at a worker electric welding machine without goggles. This can lead to eye disease - electrophthalmia. Signs of this disease appear after a few hours: sharp pain in the eyes, sensation of a foreign body.

Can't look at bactericidal lamps, which are also a source of ultraviolet light.

Can't stare for long snow in the mountains on a sunny day. This can lead to the development of a disease such as snowy ophthalmia. Therefore, skiers and other people who stay in the mountains often and for a long time definitely need good UV protection.

Watch on the surface of the water on a clear day it is as dangerous as looking at the sun.

Can't look at eclipse. With simultaneous powerful exposure of the eye to solar radiation, a retinal burn occurs - solar maculopathy. The same fate awaits the one who will look at the sun for a long time.

There is a so-called risk group. People in this group are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of the sun, even at low radiation intensity. Do you relate to risk group, if:

Do you have a retinal disease?

You work at a computer;

You have blond hair and eyes;

Are you into mountaineering or skiing?

Everyone is automatically included in the risk group. children, because their eyes are very sensitive to ultraviolet light.

note

There are always a lot of strange codes and symbols written on glasses or labels. Let's see what they mean.

An indelible number must be printed on the inside or side of the temples - this is the model code. Be sure to indicate one Latin letter (A, B, C or D), which indicates the color.

Since 2004, Filter Cat has also been printed on the temples with a number from 1 to 4 - these are the degrees of darkening of the lenses from light to darkest. Darkness has nothing to do with UV protection. Therefore, no matter what kind of glasses you have - transparent or dark, with a special UV filter, they can equally well protect against ultraviolet radiation.

For a city or a summer residence, Filter Cat 3 is enough. The second degree is recommended for drivers.

If the label or glasses says Blocks at least 95% UVB and 60% UVA, it means that the glasses do not let through 95% of UV B rays and 60% of UV A rays.

The designations 100% UV Protection or UV 400 indicate that the glasses have 100% UV protection. Usually this indicator is indicated on a transparent sticker on the lens.

It is better to choose the color of glasses not in accordance with aesthetic preferences, but according to the recommendations of ophthalmologists.

“Recently, experts have been recommending glasses that attenuate blue and violet light. Being close to ultraviolet in the optical spectrum, they can lead to retinal burns, says ophthalmologist Valentina Guryanova. - Glasses are recommended dark grey, dark green, brown. Drivers can be advised glasses with orange and yellow lenses, as these colors increase contrast. Pink lens color is not recommended, as it affects the psyche. Red distorts perception, it is not advisable to drive a car in them. Blue color causes great damage to the retina.”

Plastic or glass

It used to be thought that only glass lenses could protect the eyes from harmful solar radiation. Most sunglasses these days are plastic. Manufacturers have learned how to make plastic lenses that do not transmit UV rays. Glass glasses have a number of disadvantages: they are heavier, more traumatic, and can fog up. Plastic wins significantly against their background, but it is less resistant to scratches. These glasses must be stored in a case.

In addition to UV protection, lenses may have additional filters. polarized, in addition to ultraviolet, they neutralize glare on the surface of a wet road, on snow and water. Glasses with polarized lenses are necessary for drivers, fishermen, as well as those who are going to relax at sea or in the mountains.

There are glasses with anti-reflective coating, which removes glare from the lens itself - and the image becomes cleaner.

For those who need prescription sunglasses, there are two options: photochromic and monochrome lenses. Such glasses are made in optics salons on an individual order.

Spectacles with photochromic lenses, or "chameleons", belong to the class of high-quality spectacle optics products. They use a special filter that changes density depending on the illumination. Darkens in bright light, brightens in darkness.

High-quality "chameleons" darken evenly. If one glass darkens more than the other, then you have a low-quality product.

What's wrong with sunglasses?

The human eye is designed to perceive light. Nature itself took care of its protective mechanisms, which include the eyelids, the cornea and, of course, the iris, which has a pupil. As the light increases, it narrows to allow fewer rays to pass through. And in low light, the pupil dilates.

“The trouble is that glasses of dubious quality are often sold on street stalls. Some of them have no UV protection at all. Wearing these glasses is very dangerous. Tinted glasses reduce the brightness of light - and the pupils expand and are defenseless against radiation. They let in even more ultraviolet rays, which cause retinal diseases, ”the ophthalmologist warns.

The price of quality

“There is an opinion that good glasses should be expensive. This is not true. The cost of glasses includes several items, these are not only materials. The frame also determines the cost. Today in opticians you can buy inexpensive good glasses: as a rule, sellers drop the price of collections from past seasons. The most fashionable and, accordingly, the most expensive are put on the main showcase,” said Valentina Guryanova.

On "no" and there is no certificate!

Armed with the acquired knowledge, the correspondent went to study the counters of optics salons.

In the first showroom, which is also a pharmacy, the showcase was dominated by Chinese manufacturers. There were also glasses from Europe, but at more "biting" prices. The seller was sincerely surprised by the question of documentary confirmation of the quality of the goods:

Sunglasses are not subject to certification.

How do I know that I'm buying good glasses?

Sunglasses are not subject to certification, - the seller chattered like a parrot and hurried to return the goods to the window.

The second in the experiment was a branded salon of a well-known brand. It was also not possible to obtain documentary confirmation of the compliance of a particular model of glasses with sanitary and hygienic requirements from sellers.

However, production of both Br600 thousand and Br60 thousand did not arouse suspicion. All the necessary markings were on the temples of the glasses. All products (even at discounted prices) come with a one to two year warranty.

Belarus has abolished mandatory certification of sunglasses. And since this procedure is quite expensive, dealers are in no hurry to voluntarily carry it out. Thus, the buyer remains in a very unenviable position: even when buying glasses in a salon, he cannot be absolutely sure that he is being sold a quality product. It remains to rely on well-known brands and their official representatives, who, taking care of their reputation, will not engage in the manufacture and sale of bad glasses. But here you should be careful not to buy a fake.

What to do?

When buying, be vigilant. Think about whether it is worth buying a product if the logo and inscriptions on it do not match the original, the product has a low quality of individual elements. But the main thing that should alert you is the very low price of glasses, erasable inscriptions, scratches, the same item number for different models, etc.

A good frame should hold the lenses securely and not have any burrs or burrs, be heavy enough and proportional.

The frames of cheap low-quality glasses are usually very light. The arms are always attached to them with screws, which must be constantly tightened so that they do not fall out. Of course, the service life of such glasses rarely reaches two seasons. Meanwhile, quality glasses can last for many years.

When buying branded glasses, they must issue a warranty card and offer a branded case and a napkin as a gift.

Olga Artishevskaya

Light is a miraculous elixir

More than enough has been written about the beneficial effects of sunlight on the eyes, about the closest interaction between the heavenly body and the organs of vision. In order to be convinced of the decisive role of light for the eyes, it is enough to place people with different vision in absolute darkness. Agree that, regardless of the degree of visual pathology, all participants in the experiment will be equally blind.

The sun is both food and drink for the eyes. No wonder the Bible said: "Sweet is the light and pleasing to the eyes to see the sun" (Ecclesiastes, 11:7). Even the medical encyclopedia defines the eyes as "an organ of vision that perceives light stimuli."

The healing properties of light have been known since ancient times. The ancient Greeks left records of the theory and practice of solar therapy they developed. The city of Heliopolis (city of the Sun) was famous for its healing temples, in which light was used to heal people. Evidence has been preserved of the therapeutic use of the spectral components of light - the colors of the rainbow - in ancient Egypt.

Among modern scientists who studied the effect of light on living organisms was the American D. Stipler. He proceeded from the fact that since all life on Earth exists thanks to sunlight, then light is something more than a source of heat and food.

Becoming a follower of Stipler, an American psychologist, a doctor at a clinic in Colorado, Jacob Lieberman concretized his ideas and began to use light in his medical practice. Over 30 years of practical work, he managed to cure more than 15,000 people from cancer, eye and cardiovascular diseases! His technique also helps with sexual disorders and disorders in the immune system.

Dr. Lieberman claims that as it travels along the optic nerve, the light beam splits in two. One impulse goes to the part of the brain where the visual image is directly created. Another impulse enters the hypothalamus - the most important part of the brain, associated primarily with the nervous and endocrine systems. It is thanks to the hypothalamus that blood pressure and body temperature are maintained at a certain level, the heart beats, thanks to it we experience joy, fear, hunger, etc.

Inside the hypothalamus is a biconcave lens - the pineal gland. Passing through this lens, the light is decomposed into the colors of the solar spectrum and distributed to the internal organs and systems of the body. It is believed that it is the lack of certain colors of the solar spectrum within the body that leads to the development of certain diseases.

Since the lack of light causes diseases, it means that with the help of saturation with light it is possible to cure them! Eye diseases are especially successfully treated with light, about which a lot of scientific evidence has been accumulated. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, the German doctor from Bonn, G. Meyer-Schwickerath, reported at the international congress of ophthalmologists in New York that patients with serious eye diseases were helped by looking at the sun during sunset. Many followers of Bates successfully use sunlight and artificial light to strengthen the eyes, regardless of the severity of the eye disease.

Down with dark glasses

Why are we facing a craze for sunglasses today? Why do people who are so waiting for warm sunny days, after waiting for them, immediately put on dark glasses?

This trend appeared quite recently, just a few decades ago. Remember the famous Panikovsky from The Golden Calf by Ilf and Petrov: it was enough for this comic hero to put black glasses on his nose and pick up a cane, as those around him began to take him for a blind man.

When I ask my listeners what, in their opinion, is the reason for such a sudden change in the situation, a variety of versions are given out. Harmful ultraviolet, the need to hide a bad conscience, protect yourself from wrinkles, get rid of the discomfort experienced from bright light, and, finally, fashion.

In this case, the version about the harmfulness of ultraviolet radiation sounds especially unconvincing, although for many it seems to be the most valid reason for obsessing over dark glasses. According to this unsubstantiated assertion, an organ that had successfully adapted itself for millions of years to any solar action suddenly became incapable of enduring it without such dubious mediation.

Let's not forget that in the eyes of all living beings there is a wonderful adaptive mechanism - the pupil, which narrows in the bright sun and perfectly protects us from excess light. Alas, the more we use dark glasses, the worse this adaptation mechanism works, the weaker our eyes, our body and our brain become, which do not receive beneficial solar energy. This was convincingly proved by Dr. Lieberman.

Another reason for photophobia is the fear of wrinkles. The more we fear sunlight and consider it harmful to the eyes, the more we squint and frown when we suddenly find ourselves in the light. It is clear that our eyes, overworked and overstrained from prolonged work and improper visual use, painfully perceive such external stimuli. But is it the sun's fault?

Finally, the main cause of photophobia is fashion and the belief imposed on us that light is harmful to the eyes. How did the fashion for dark glasses appear? Somewhere in the middle of the last century, one of the idols of the crowd came up with the bizarre idea to go on stage in dark glasses for the blind. Maybe this person decided to change his image, or maybe he just wanted to hide the consequences of a stormy sleepless night.

Of course, hundreds and thousands of his fans wanted to follow the example of their idol. There has been a sharp increase in demand for glasses for the blind, which, as you know, creates supply. But in order not only to satisfy the demand, but also to recoup the costs with a profit, it is necessary to expand production and, accordingly, the need for goods. How? Very simple.

It is necessary to create a myth that light is harmful to the eyes and spread it among the population. As a result, medical alarmists, as well as merchants and advertisers exploiting these pundits, convinced people for their own benefit that sunlight has harmful ultraviolet radiation, thereby instilling people with a panic horror of it.

“This is not true,” Aldous Huxley says in his book, “but if you believe it is so, and act accordingly, you are doing as much harm to the eyes as if this delusion were really true.”

Watch people with photophobia who are suddenly pushed into a bright light. What grimaces, what furrowed brows! They know that the sun is bad for them. The fear of light generated by a false belief expresses itself physically in the form of a tense and completely abnormal state of the sensory apparatus. Instead of perceiving sunlight with ease and bliss, the eyes are tormented by discomfort and tissue inflammation that develops due to the instilled fear. Hence even greater suffering and even greater conviction that light is harmful to the eyes.

If you have no fear of light, but still suffer from its effects, then you are simply not using your eyes correctly. Excessively exploited and overstrained in conditions of artificial light sources, the eyes are simply not able to respond normally to external stimuli. Bright light is painful for tired eyes, but the more we hide from it, the weaker our visual organs will be and the stronger false fears and discomfort.

In fact, wearing sunglasses has in no way reduced the percentage of visually impaired people and has not yet saved anyone from this or that refractive error. On the contrary, there are many cases when people noted a deterioration in vision after a hot summer, although dark glasses were practically not removed. And no wonder: the dark glass itself often attracts the entire solar spectrum, focusing its radiation on the eyes.

Those who have not succumbed to fashion and have not accustomed themselves to dark glasses boldly meet the sun's rays and, as a rule, do not experience any discomfort. On the contrary: their eyes become expressive, and their vision only improves! Look, for example, at sailors, fishermen, shepherds, hunters and other people whose professions are associated with prolonged exposure to the air. What shining, expressive eyes!

“Doctors have always been amazed at the deeply healthy pinkness of a well-solarized retina, in contrast to the usual pallor of eyes suffering from a lack of sunlight,” M. Corbett says in his book How to Get Good Vision Without Glasses.

And who in the animal world is the standard of vigilance for us? Of course, birds. Eagles, golden eagles, falcons - those who fly high in the sky, sit on mountain peaks and look with open eyes directly at the sun. At the same time, they are literally able to see a mouse, a hare or other, smaller prey from a bird's eye view. Well, the symbols of blindness are for all underground and nocturnal animals, especially moles.

Choose dark glasses. Not all sunglasses are safe for the eyes. How to choose the right ones. (10+)

How to choose sunglasses?

I will focus on just one aspect of choosing sunglasses - their safety. At first glance, it seems that there is no particular danger from the fact that you cover your eyes from bright light with a color filter. But reality is more complicated.

Ultraviolet

Sunlight has a fairly wide spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet rays. Only a small range is visible in it. Infrared light is not dangerous to the eye. But rays of a higher frequency than visible light (ultraviolet) can be dangerous.

The eye adapts to changes in light intensity by opening or closing the diaphragm (pupil). The eye is designed for the fact that the ratio of visible and ultraviolet light is certain, corresponding to the sun. The eye reacts to visible light, but by narrowing the pupil, it limits the flow of ultraviolet radiation.

What happens if your glasses block visible light and let in ultraviolet radiation. The pupil, focusing on the low intensity of visible light, expands and begins to transmit ultraviolet rays in excess. As a result, it is possible to damage the retina up to a burn, which can result in visual impairment, even blindness.

So good glasses should block not only visible light, but also ultraviolet radiation. Glasses that let in ultraviolet rays should not be worn. Ordinary glass blocks ultraviolet rays very strongly. So glass glasses can be considered safe from this point of view. If tapping on glasses gives a characteristic sound of glass, then you can safely buy and wear glasses.

With plastic filters, everything is more complicated. Now there are innovative transparent plastics that do not let dangerous radiation through, but most cheap plastic glasses are made from ordinary plexiglass, which perfectly transmits ultraviolet rays. Don't buy these glasses. When buying plastic glasses, make sure they filter out high frequency radiation.

When in the sun in the right dark glasses, the areas of the face covered by them do not sunbathe. This is a sign that they are filtering UV rays. If the skin darkens under the glasses, throw them away immediately.

Perspective distortion

Poor-quality glasses can create a visual illusion, for example, move away objects located at the edges of the field of view. This can cause problems, as the orientation will be disturbed, you will no longer correctly measure the length of the step and the range of your movements with reality.

Finding such a defect is quite simple. Put on glasses, look at an object that is directly in front of you at a distance of 2 - 4 meters. Evaluate your feelings from the distance. Now turn your head so that this object is visible to you not through the center, but through the edges of the glasses. It should not give the impression that he moved away or approached. You can also try moving the glasses in front of your eyes up and down, left and right. There should be no visual effects. Objects around should not move, approach or move away.

color distortion

Color filters, especially when combined with color blindness, can make some dangerous objects, such as cars, invisible at all. But you should not think that if everything is in order with your color perception, then you can wear any glasses. Bright filters can interfere even with a healthy person.

Optimum is a reflective filter, which simply reduces the intensity of light, but does not distort the colors. If you are used to a certain color of glasses, then it is better to stick to it. When there is a desire to change colors, be extremely careful at first. Objects that were previously perfectly visible can now become indistinguishable. It is worth paying attention to the good visibility of traffic lights and road signs. You can drive a car and operate dangerous mechanisms in dark glasses only after you have made sure in safer situations that they do not interfere with you.

Are sunglasses required?

The answer is unequivocal - no. The human eye is perfectly designed to perceive light during daylight hours in all possible dynamic range (any possible intensity). Centuries of evolution have prepared our eye for its modern applications. From the light of the sun, if you do not look directly at it constantly, it is impossible to go blind or even partially damage your eyesight. The eye quickly adapts to the intensity of light and sees well.

If your eye is unaccustomed to bright light, then the adaptation deteriorates, and for some time in bright light you will experience discomfort. But after a couple of days of being in conditions of high brightness, adaptation will return.

But the logic here tells us that air conditioners, massagers, mobile phones, comfortable shoes, etc. are not necessary. All these inventions increase our comfort and quality of life. Dark glasses also contribute to the treasure. So my advice is don't overdo it. Do not need too dark glasses, you should not use glasses where it is already dark. Moderate use of quality sunglasses is harmless.

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Summer promises to be hot and not only for the sun's rays, but also for fashion news. So, dark glasses are now at the peak of popularity. They add mystery, mystery to the female image and at the same time ideally protect from bright light.

What are they, fashionable dark sunglasses?

This bright accent of any look will be able to play the role of a great addition to any outfit. Especially when it comes to the now popular round sunglasses. This is the style of Ozzy Osbourne and the protagonist of J. Rowling's books, Harry Potter. So, at Fashion Weeks, many famous fashion houses demonstrated their passion for this form: Prabal Gurung, Tracy Reese, Karen Walker. Moreover, there were models with a contrasting bright frame, which could not help but add charm to the image of a modern fashionista.

If we talk about the frame, then it should be mentioned that this season, when choosing glasses with dark glasses, both with diopters and without them, you should pay attention to the frame of this accessory. So, at the peak of popularity, the classic horn and plastic frames made in. True, the Juicy Couture house decided to set the tone for the current fashion trends and presented glasses with the thinnest metal frame to the attention of the public.

Particularly popular this season are products with mirrored glass. They are full of spring-summer collections. So, if earlier these glasses were popular in the 20s, 70s, then the glory returns to them.

Dark glasses and face shape

In order not to spoil your image with fashionable things, unsuccessfully combining, picking up one or another element of the wardrobe, accessory, you should carefully consider your image. So, only those girls in round sunglasses will look great who have a pretty round face like Charlotte Church, Christina Richie or Drew Barrymore.

Beauties with the same oval face shape as Cindy Crawford, Julia Roberts and Courteney Cox are advised to look at absolutely any glasses. What can not be said about fashionistas with a heart-shaped shape (Naomi Campbell, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon). They fit dark rounded glasses.

If you have a pear-shaped face like Jennifer Aniston, you should pay attention to the wide frame. And for a square shape (Keira Knightley), "aviators" and glasses with rounded edges are ideal. And, finally, for women with a diamond shape (Sophie Loren, Cher and Lisa Kudrow), glasses with square and oval frames are created.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking that by hiding your eyes behind dark lenses, people look more confidently at others? Their gait and mannerisms change - someone feels like a sophisticated Holly Gollightly, chewing a croissant under a Tiffany window, and someone transforms into a tough killer Leon. About the power of dark framed glasses, our article!

First mystical experience: glasses for the "Invisible Man"

In 1933, the Hollywood blockbuster (and one of the first horror films) The Invisible Man was released. Claude Raines, who was popular at the time, starred as Dr. Griffin, a man who became invisible due to experiments with the monocan. But the main "star" of the film was, of course, dark glasses - unique, frightening, with eccentric side blinders! Probably, it was this Hollywood masterpiece that became the first film confirming that with dark glasses we all become invisible.

Villains behind dark lenses

By the way, have you noticed how often negative characters appear on screens in sunglasses? And not just negative, but ambiguous characters - for example, Darth Vader from Star Wars or Agent Smith from The Matrix. And all because dark glasses perfectly hide emotions and add impartiality to any image. Don't believe? And try to appear at the nearest party in cool "reubens" - you can order them even now, for example, on the website http://www.sun-shop.com.ua. The first thought that comes to the mind of others will be: “Probably he has something to hide.”

By the way, a similar thought came to mind and Carmello Valmoria - that's the name of the head of the National Police Department in the distant Philippines. By his personal order, he banned the wearing of sunglasses in entertainment centers. And do you know why? Because dark lenses could be used by attackers to commit a crime!

Masquerade in a new reading

Agree, sunglasses in the modern world sometimes play the same role that masks once played. The face, partly hidden under a stylish accessory, just like a couple of hundred years ago, arouses people's interest and desire to “bite through” the invisibility. We mentally imagine the face of the interlocutor without glasses, give free rein to fantasy ...

This is the magic of sun protection - we believe that we have hidden ourselves from others under the dark glasses of “wayfarers” or “reubens”. But in fact, they have become the object of increased attention (especially if you have chosen a model from the latest collections of Gucci, Dior or any other luxury brands on the website http://www.sun-shop.com.ua/category/ray-ban-1) . Are you ready for the magical power of the accessory?