Summer is just around the corner, can you feel the heat? With Memorial Day approaching quickly (May 31st, 2010) - Spring and Winter are quickly becoming faded memories. As the sun gets warmer, your eyes need more protection. Think of it this way - how will you spend your Memorial Day? Will you be outside golfing? Perhaps you may be at a baseball game. Maybe you like to sit outside and play with your kids at the park? No matter how you plan to spend your Memorial Day, the underlying question is: how will you protect your eyes? If you are like 60% of the American population, you probably wear glasses. You may think that wearing your frames is a great quick fix to protecting your eyes. It's not.

Regardless of how long you have worn glasses, you have probably never worn them properly to protect your eyes from harmful ultra violet rays. What does that mean? Your eyeglasses may not have had an ultra violet protective coating on the lenses. Without that thin layer of protection (think of it as SPF or sun block for your eyes), your eyes could be in danger. Esthetically, you may develop more wrinkles from squinting in order to see properly into the distance. Did you know that your eyelids can get sun burnt? It is a little known, little thought about fact. Without proper ultra violet filters, your eye lids can become burnt from the sun. Eye lids also burn a lot more quickly than the rest of your body given the thinness of the skin protecting the eye.

Additionally, if your eyes are not protected from the sun, you could develop cataracts - a clouding of the eye making it hard to see. Cataracts can lead to blindness. The only way to fix cataracts is with surgery - there are no prescription glasses that can reverse the effect of a cataract on the eye. Glasses can help prevent melanoma from developing on your eye lids and areas around the eye. You can protect your eyes by wearing glasses that have UV protection and contain a tinted lens. While a tinted lens is ideal for working outdoors, it is not fully necessary for protecting your eyes against UV rays. The best option is to wear polarized lenses that block out the glare from the sun as well as absorb ultra violet light.

In order to protect your eyes, always purchase a pair of glasses with an ultra violet protective coating. They will absorb the ultra violet light and protect your eyes. Additionally, you may want to consider a coating of anti-glare or anti-reflection to help ward off blinding glares and reflections from the sun on shiny surfaces. It does not matter if you bought your glasses online or in a retail store - your eyes should always be protected, even in the winter. If you are outdoors for long periods of time, invest in a pair of polarized sunglasses or tinted sunglasses with the ultra violet protection - your eyes and skin will thank you later.