Do you need to wear glasses to correct blurry vision? You’re not alone. More than 150 million Americans are diagnosed with a refractive error—like astigmatism, myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and presbyopia—that affects their ability to see clearly. As the most common type of vision impairment, they’re highly treatable through corrective glasses and contact lenses as well as surgery.
If you’re looking to keep your eyes from aging, however, refractive errors may make it more challenging to safeguard your vision. That’s primarily because your need to wear glasses can make it harder to benefit from sunglasses—our first line of defense against the sun’s harmful UV rays.
So how can you benefit from this protective eyewear when you already use glasses? Clip-on sunglasses may hold the answer as a more accessible solution to your anti-aging needs.
Linking refractive errors and UV damage
When aiming to ward off aging vision, it’s important to remember that refractive errors can progress over time. One important example can be seen in myopia, which is particularly becoming prevalent due to increasing screen time across the globe—leading to a nearsightedness epidemic experts say will see half the world’s population diagnosed with the refractive error by 2050.
Myopia occurs when the eyeball elongates, making it harder for light to focus directly on the retina and blurring your far vision. If the eyeball elongates even further, this condition can progress into progressive or high myopia. This more severe form of the condition is associated with serious complications like abnormal blood vessel growth, an increased lifetime risk of retinal detachment, and changes to your eyes’ vitreous cavities. If you have it, you’re thus more likely to develop diseases like cataracts and macular degeneration—issues that can cause blindness and are commonly linked with aging vision.
They’re also the same diseases you’ll become vulnerable to when you’re overexposed to the sun’s UV rays. These can penetrate all the way to the back of your eyes and slowly damage them over time. That’s why the sun is closely linked to the above age-related vision impairments.
Yet because of the fact that it costs more to add your prescription to sunglasses, it can be more difficult to find a convenient and affordable means of sun protection if you’re already a glasses wearer. That ultimately means the sun can exacerbate the aging effects refractive errors can cause.
How clip-on sunglasses can help
Currently, the eyewear market offers a few sun protection options for glasses wearers. One is glasses with photochromic lenses, which look clear indoors but darken once exposed to the sun. However, that transition can be slow in colder months and will not darken enough to provide adequate sun protection in places like cars.
Prescription sunglasses are another eyewear option you have. These directly integrate your prescription into UV-blocking lenses to make for a convenient sun protection solution. However, they can be particularly expensive. In the US, they can cost anywhere between $150 to $500. Prices can rise depending on the complexity of your prescription—such as if you need progressive rather than single-vision lenses—and the brand you buy your sunglasses from.
That’s what makes clip-on sunglasses the most accessible yet effective solution. As seen on Foster Grant, these accessories fit seamlessly over your existing glasses to provide 100% UVA and UVB protection as standard—ensuring the health and anti-aging eye care benefits of traditional sunglasses.
Various brands, ranging from Haven to Solar Shield, also offer them in different styles, sizes, and shapes, ensuring you can find the right match for your current specs. That can be more convenient, as you don’t need to buy separate sunglasses just to benefit from sun protection. For that same reason, they’re also more affordable. Because you’re not paying for full sunglasses frames or to put your prescription on the lenses, you can get clip-ons for as little as $15.
Choosing effective clip-on sunglasses
When procuring clip-on sunglasses, look for some key features to ensure they can effectively shield your eyes from premature aging. Arguably the first and most important thing you should ensure your clip-ons offer is sun protection. They should come with a “100% UV protection” or “UV400” label. These will help confirm that the clip-ons were made in line with international UV protection standards and can thus significantly reduce your risk of developing age-related eye conditions.
Next, consider the design characteristics unique to clip-on sunglasses. Getting them from the same brand you bought your glasses from, for example, will ensure they’ll adequately cover your regular lenses. From here, choose the kind of attachment mechanism you want to use.
Generally, magnetic clip-on sunglasses from market leaders like Zenni Optical are more popular because they boast enhanced features that are easier and more convenient to use—all you need to do is hold them close to your glasses until they click onto the frames. If you’d prefer a more secure fit, though, you can also opt for clip-ons that use an actual clip or hinge. However, you need to manually attach and remove them from your glasses on your own.
Finally, you can invest in additional lens features to enhance your clip-ons’ performance—or simply improve their longevity. Getting impact-resistant lenses with anti-scratch coatings, for example, means that they won’t get damaged so easily. If you’re behind the wheel often, you can opt for clip-ons with dedicated driving lenses for enhanced visibility. You can even get clip-on sunglasses with polarized lenses. These will protect your eyes from the sun’s glare, which can bounce off reflective surfaces like water—and thus provide the additional benefit of shielding you from short-term conditions like photokeratitis, which can cause temporary vision loss.
This article was written for WHN by RUTH ANN JOHN who is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about health, wellness, and sustainability. When she’s not typing away at her keyboard, you can find her completing an oil painting or doing DIY projects.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/refractive-errors
https://worldhealth.net/news/nearsightedness-epidemic-levels-and-problem-begins-childhood/
https://www.aapos.org/glossary/progressive-high-myopia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2637688/pdf/jnma00862-0045.pdf
https://www.fostergrant.com/fits-over-clip-on-sunglasses/clipon
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/magnetic-clip-sunglasses-market-analysis-united-states-hsyxe
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/glasses-contacts/polarized-lenses
