If you’ve been tethered to glasses or contacts for much of your life, the freedom LASIK provides will likely significantly improve your life. LASIK has a very high satisfaction rate, with over 96% of people happy with their results.
If you consider having LASIK, you will likely have many questions about what life looks like after the procedure. Keep reading to learn if you need to wear sunglasses after LASIK!
What Are Some of the Benefits of LASIK?
Many people choose to have LASIK surgery to reduce their dependency on contact lenses or glasses. Without having to rely on glasses to see, you can move your head back and forth without the edge of your frames defining your field of good vision.
There’s no longer any limit to clear sight, and it’s expansive and uninterrupted. You can also have newfound confidence to do things you’ve never done before.
In your life after LASIK, you can fall asleep without worrying about your glasses falling off or forgetting to take your contacts out. You can swim, play sports, and go places without carrying glasses or extra contacts just in case.
Life after LASIK is much more enjoyable, carefree, and spontaneous. However, you will still need to be cautious to protect your eyes.
Are Sunglasses Necessary After LASIK?
You only get one pair of eyes, and they need and deserve every form of protection you can give them. After LASIK, you’ve made an excellent investment in your eyes with life-changing vision-correcting surgery.
You wouldn’t drive any distance in a car without wearing your seat belt. In the same way, you shouldn’t spend any time outdoors without wearing a pair of sunglasses.
You slather on sunscreen and wear clothing to protect your skin from the sun, and you should be protecting your eyes with good-quality sunglasses. Sunglasses are your front line of defense against the sun and its powerful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
They also protect your eyes from the radiation energy produced by the sun. These rays include UVA and UVB rays which, over time, can cause severe damage to the eye.
UV rays can harm the eye’s surface tissue, cornea, and lens. This damage can cause cataracts and other conditions that reduce or threaten your vision.
What Sunglasses Should I Wear After LASIK?
While fashion and style are always a consideration, don’t sacrifice your eyes to an inferior pair of sunglasses just because they look good. You should buy sunglasses marked with a tag or sticker that indicates 100% UV protection from UV light.
Sunglasses with a mark that notes UV absorption up to 400nm are equally as good. It is not necessary to judge a lens by its color.
Darker lenses don’t necessarily offer more protection. Although brown or rose-colored lenses provide more visual contrast, one color does not offer more UV protection than another.
Mirrored lenses are metallic coating on an ordinary sunglass lens. These also do not have protective properties.
When choosing sunglasses, always look for the UV label. The same is valid for polarized lenses which aren’t always UV blocking.
Polarized lenses block the glare from reflective surfaces like water, glass windows, or roads. Polarization alone doesn’t offer UV protection.
You still have to look for the label indicating 100% UV protection. If you want to maximize sun protection, get the largest lenses to keep your eyes safe.
In addition to offering UV protection, sunglasses also protect your eyes by blocking any flying debris such as dust, dirt, or tiny particles that could get into your eyes. By protecting your eyes from these irritants, you’ll be able to avoid minor irritation to eye surface damage.
Are you interested in learning more about life after LASIK? Schedule a LASIK consultation at Metro Eye Care in Paramus, NJ, today!
