The Importance of UV Protection in Safety Sunglasses

Whether working indoors or outdoors, it’s important to keep your eyes protected with a good pair of safety glasses. However, protecting your eyes isn't as simple as shielding them from debris, dust, or other hazards. Harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun can damage your eyes too, especially if you're not wearing safety glasses with UV protection.

In this article, we will cover the importance of having a reliable pair of safety sunglasses or prescription safety glasses with UV protection. We will also discuss when to wear them, and how to choose the best prescription safety glasses for your environment. Wearing prescription safety glasses with UV protection offers more robust eye protection to help keep you safe while working on a job site or outdoor home project.

Whether indoors, outdoors, sunny, or cloudy, UV rays are almost everywhere – But, what are UV rays and why do you need to protect your eyes from them? UV rays, or ultraviolet rays, are a type of solar radiation that comes from the sun and some artificial light sources. These UV rays can seriously damage your eyes in the short and long term, even in indirect sunlight.

While some exposure to UV rays can be beneficial, too much exposure can enhance your risk of developing serious vision problems, such as:

• Growths
• Eye sunburn
• Eye strain and dryness
• Increased risk of cancers
• Increased risk of cataracts
• Increased risk of macular degeneration

When it comes to maintaining good eye health, keeping your eyes safe from the sun may be as important as wearing sunscreen, especially as you age. Even when it’s cloudy outside, UV rays can still do significant damage to your vision over time. Wearing safety eyewear can protect your eyes from foreign debris, but do safety glasses block UV rays?

Wearing a good pair of prescription safety sunglasses—or non-prescription safety glasses—with UV protection is an effective way to block UV rays and combat eye-related sun damage at the same time.

In addition to wearing safety glasses with UV protection, there are other steps you can take to protect your eyes:

• Wear a hat when leaving home – especially on bright, sunny days. UV protective sunglasses are helpful on their own, but wearing a hat can provide more coverage to help shield the sensitive skin around your eyes.

• Whether polarized or non-polarized, always wear a pair of sunglasses that have adequate UV protection when leaving home.

• The skin of the eyelid is the thinnest most delicate skin on the body and is especially vulnerable to UV damage. Some facial sunscreens can help shield the skin around your eyes from damaging UVA/UVB rays.

Protecting your vision from UV damage at work is a smart and practical way to keep your eyes in good shape. By wearing safety sunglasses with UV protection, you might even see some positive benefits like fewer headaches and reduced eye strain, to name a few. You may also lower your risk of developing cataracts, macular degeneration, and even certain eye cancers.

When searching for safety glasses, you may find yourself deciding between polarized lenses, UV-protective lenses, or a combination of both lens options. Yet, what exactly is the difference between these two lens types, and is one more beneficial than the other?

Polarized lenses are designed to eliminate horizontal glare from reflective surfaces like water, snow, roads, and glass. They’re known for their ability to enhance visual clarity, improve visibility, and reduce eye strain from glare in bright environments. Usually, most sunglasses with polarized lenses also provide UV protection, but not all UV-protective sunglasses are polarized.

While non-polarized lenses don’t offer the same glare protection as polarized lenses do, they can still protect against UV damage. This means that non-polarized lenses with UV protection are more commonly used when glare reduction is not the main hazard or concern.

In short, UV-blocking lenses protect your eyes from harmful UV rays while polarized lenses remove glare so you can view the world more vividly and effortlessly. Depending on your specific work requirements or hazards, you may benefit from polarized lenses, UV-protective lenses, or both.

Do you know if your old pair of safety glasses still have adequate UV protection? Finding out the hard way can be a costly risk to take. At Ocusafe™, every pair of prescription and non-prescription pair of safety sunglasses comes fully equipped with expert-applied UV-protective coating. Ocusafe™ safety glasses are built to fit securely and comfortably on your face without needing to make adjustments throughout the day. Additionally, each pair is tested – and passed– for high velocity and impact, so you know they’ll stand up to even the toughest jobs.

By purchasing a reliable pair of RX or non-RX safety sunglasses from a trusted eyewear source like Ocusafe™, you can feel confident and protected when working on projects in the shop, at work, or at home.

Ocusafe™ is a US-based, doctor-run, eyewear company dedicated to keeping safety glasses accessible and affordable to those who need them the most. If you’re looking for affordable safety sunglasses that can guard your eyes from the sun's harsh UV rays while keeping you protected from dust and debris, check out our collection of safety glasses at Ocusafe™.

Whether you need traditional safety glasses, safety sunglasses, or prescription safety sunglasses, Ocusafe™ has a collection of high-quality safety eyewear options for you to choose from. Plus, Ocusafe™ offers a variety of custom add-ons like side shields and lens tints to enhance your safety, comfort, and performance even more. So, what are you waiting for? Order prescription safety sunglasses from Ocusafe™ today to start defending your eye health with comfort and style.