Polarized Glasses Reduce Glare and Eye Strain
Eyeglasses can correct vision but they can also help reduce eye strain caused by bright sunlight and intense glare commonly encountered in Southern California. Polarized sunglasses are able to reduce glare more than non-polarized sunglasses, making them extremely beneficial for eye comfort and visibility on a bright day.
At GW Eye Associates, Dr. Gordon Wong and Dr. Wildon Wong help patients protect their vision with polarized glasses to reduce glare when enjoying the sunny days La Jolla, CA, Carmel Valley, CA, and San Diego, CA, have to offer. For more information, we welcome you to schedule a consultation.
What Are Polarized Glasses?
Polarized glasses are glasses that are made in such a way that their lenses help keep the eyes comfortable by reducing glare, a type of intense, bright light.
Polarized lenses do this through the use of a special chemical that creates a film over the lenses. This film filters out glare and helps reduce eye strain.
How Do Polarized Lenses Help Reduce Glare?
In order to understand how polarized lenses reduce glare, it’s helpful to understand how the lightwaves that create glare travel.
Glare tends to happen when lightwaves strike a flat surface, causing the light to reflect, or bounce off the surface, in a horizontal manner. This causes the light to be intense, which can hurt the eyes and make it more difficult to see.
The filters on polarized lenses have small vertical openings. These openings only let in vertical lightwaves and reduce glare by blocking horizontal lightwaves from passing through the lenses.
When To Wear Polarized Glasses
Glasses with polarized lenses are a great option for reducing glare and preventing eye strain. They can help protect the eyes from intense, bright light and improve visibility when glare makes it difficult to see.
Strong, glaring light is sometimes blinding and can be dangerous in certain situations, like when driving. Wearing polarized glasses outdoors can reduce glare and help people see despite a bright glare.
Polarized glasses are beneficial in reducing glare when worn daily, especially when:
- Driving
- Going for a walk or jog outside
- Near bodies of water
- Fishing or boating
- At outdoor sporting events
- Working outdoors
- Spending any time in the sun
Other Considerations
When looking for a pair of polarized glasses, it’s important to keep in mind that polarization alone does not protect the eyes from ultraviolet (UV) light and lenses with UV protection aren’t necessarily polarized. Sunglasses should be both polarized and offer UV protection to provide your eyes with the best protection.
Additionally, polarized lenses can make things look darker than non-polarized sunglasses but they also tend to make things look clearer and more detailed, making them a great choice for daily wear.
Another thing to be aware of is that polarized lenses can make it difficult to read LCD screens and should be taken into account when wearing polarized glasses.
Schedule a Consultation at GW Eye Associates
Your vision is important to our team at GW Eye Associates. If you would like to discuss your eye care needs, call (858) 454-4699 to schedule a consultation with one of our optometrists.
