Prescription sunglasses are the perfect remedy for short-sighted people who are extremely sensitive to light, but are required to wear spectacles in order to acquire perfect vision. Not only that, they can also become a great fashion accessory, as long as you select a cool style. There are a huge amount of spectacle wearers who, every year, suffer hugely with the suns bright rays, and this can occasionally cause headaches or even worse, collisions when driving. The most recent statistics published by the UK highways agency, revealed that around a third of accidents reported throughout the UK Summer months, were a result of drivers being briefly overwhelmed by the sun’s glare. But let’s not forget the other important bonus about owning a pair of prescription sunglasses; they will serve to be extremely practical and hugely convenient. So to summarise, owning a pair of sunglasses, tailored to your prescription, will enable you to only have to carry specs when those long sunny days arrive.
Now, obviously there are many people who disagree with the idea of owning a pair of prescription sunglasses, making the case that a pair of Reactorlite lenses are going to be far more useful. The most common problem that many glasses wearers have with light reacting lenses (otherwise known as Transitions or Reactorlite), is that most light reactive spectacles very rarely work in the way we would like them to. For instance, if you went outdoors wearing your Reactorlite lenses on a dazzlingly bright afternoon, and then went to veer off inside a shaded building then, you are going to discover that they take quite a long time to go back to their original condition. The other common problem with these types of lenses, compared to prescription sunglasses, is that they do not work as good when you are behind the wheel of a car. The reason for this is that these days car windscreen already have a built-in UV protection filter, and this filters out the main thing that causes the lenses to react, UV rays. The glasses then change very slowly due to the windscreen UV filter, thus causing problematic situations, especially for people who are driving when the sun is pointing directly towards you. The fact is, that by the time you have turned a corner and are hit straight on by the suns glare, your glasses have not even begun the reaction process.
Lots of spectacle wearers have discovered that possessing a pair of quality prescription sunglasses, is the cheapest and most practical way of protecting themselves from the sun’s harmful rays. The reason for choosing a static tint is because of the fact that they are, more than likely, going to be at the shade in order to meet your requirements, thus avoiding any unwanted glare. But don’t forget, it’s always a bonus if you can look god whilst wearing a pair of sunglasses as the frames will always be a lot bigger than pair of standard spectacles. In fact, you could liken a pair of prescription sunglasses to that of a fashion accessory as well as a visual aid necessity.
Jim Romand is a specialist prescription lens consultant and dispensing optician who has worked in the industry for over 25 years. After qualifying as an SMC Tech at the london college of optometry in 1985, He has since worked as a Lab consultant for many high street opticians chains within the UK.
He currently works as a specialist prescription lens technician for an online lens retailer specialising in Prescription sunglasses