Have fun at the beach but please remember to protect your eyes.
Who doesn’t want to spend a day, a weekend, or the whole summer relaxing in the sun and surf? The beach is certainly a great place for the young and the young-at-heart to get away for a while. However, despite the fun and enjoyment we get from splashing in the surf, sun bathing, dolphin watching, having a picnic, playing some form of beach ball, and enjoying a frozen Margarita on the boardwalk, it is also essential to protect ourselves and our eyes from harmful effects of the sun’s radiation.
Sunshine benefits our bodies by providing Vitamin D, a feeling of warmth and life, and a reduction in stress. However, it also contains some harmful by-products – in the form of Ultraviolet Radiation (UV rays) – which are quite harmful to our health, more specifically, our skin and eyes.
These UV rays have two components, UVA and UVB, both of whch promote the formation of eye-related diseases, such as macular degeneration and cataracts, “clouding the eye’s lens and leading to diminished eyesight.” Additionally, UVB is linked directly to skin cancer. Our eyelids, because they very thin are actually “vulnerable” – more susceptable to skin cancer that we realize.
Everyone should be wearing sunglasses just as they do sunscreen, and that’s a fact of life that we, unfortunately, often overlook. By wearing a pair of well-designed, authentic (read that, quality) sunglasses we can help limit and possibly deter our exposure to these harmful UV rays. It is important that beach-travelers get a pair of sunglasses that block 99% to 100% of UVA and UVB rays – AND WEAR THEM.
While “skinny” designer styles may look cool, it is important to find sunglasses with larger lenses because they cover a wider range of skin and reduce the chance of UV ray penetration from the sides, top and bottom. Yes, bottom – because the sand and water reflect the sun’s energy back UP onto your face and eyes.
There are myriad shops in Ocean City, on the boardwalk and elsewhere, where you can shop and choose among a large selection of branded authentic sunglasses, such as Ray Ban, Armani, and Gucci. These sunglasses provide blockage of UV rays and they also have wide lenses to cover a broader range of protection around the eyes!
The next time you gals (and guys!) hit up the beach, remember to wear those sunglasses to provide protection from the harmful rays of the sunlight – and you will look stylin’ at the same time!