Better vision all year: Sungls more an just a fashion item

AALEN/Germany, 31.07.2013.

Sunglasses are not only a highly attractive accessory for use in the sunshine, but they also offer indispensable protection for our eyes whether for adults or children, when we are out shopping, driving in the car, hiking in the mountains or lounging on the beach. Rays from the sun can be harmful to our eyes, and long-term exposure can cause permanent damage. High-performance sunglasses offer both protection and optimal vision, all sharply focused on the personal needs of the wearer.

Certified protection for more security

Too much solar radiation can damage the eyes. Invisible UV light (up to 400 nm), visible blue light (400-500 nm) and very bright and intensive light in general can all pose a danger. Surfaces like sand, water and snow reflect the sunlight and intensify the radiation. This is why the most important criterion for every pair of sunglasses is good UV protection. Tinted sunglasses without suitable UV protection are dangerous. The darkening effect of the glasses leads to pupil dilation, allowing even more radiation to enter the eye. When choosing sunglasses, it is important to ensure that they have the CE label. The CE label guarantees that the sunglasses meet the basic safety requirements of the European directives. This directive ensures "100% UV protection" for UV radiation with a wavelength of up to 380 nm. Since the harmful rays display a wavelength of up to 400 nm, sunglasses should also feature a "UV 400" label. This indicates that they filter out rays with a wavelength of up to 400 nm.

Color is not just fashion

With a tint intensity of up to 95%, brown, gray and green lenses offer the highest glare protection and cause the least possible distortion of surrounding colors. For all other colors, e.g. blue, red and yellow, the eyes need time to adapt and to at least partially neutralize the colors. Through a high proportion of yellow, special brown tints provide additional protection against blue light and enhance contrast at the same time. With up to 50% light absorption, yellow and orange lenses offer little glare protection, but they do have a contrast-enhancing effect. Therefore, they optimize vision for outdoor sports performed against single-color backgrounds, e.g. the snow when skiing or the green of a golf course. Sunglasses become real eye-catchers if they feature graduated tints, where the top of the lenses displays a darker tint than the bottom, or a colored mirror coating.

Children need special care

Childrens eyes are clearer and transmit more light than those of adults. As a result, UV rays can cause much more damage. In childrens glasses, there is always a great temptation to choose colorful, fun designs, but the requirements for good UV protection must nevertheless be fully met and confirmed by the CE and "UV 400" labels. Color-distorting lens tints (e.g. yellow, blue, red) are not suitable for childrens eyes. For safety reasons, only break-resistant, ground plastic lenses can be used for children.

UV protection is even more important in the winter time

Often not realized is that damaging UV rays are much more dangerous in winter than in summer. In summer, green surroundings only reflect about 6% of light. For snow, though, that figure is nearly 95%. Only sunglasses with high-quality lenses provide eyes with effective protection against eye inflammation or more serious conditions. This is because sunlight, which contains high levels of UV energy, can cause damage to the retina. All of this means that sunglasses are an important health topic all year round.

More information on sunglasses and buying criteria for consumers can be found on the Internet at

www.zeiss.com/better-vision.



Looking good and protecting your eyes - with ZEISS sunlenses

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With the new and extended color portfolio from ZEISS, the eye care professional can meet practically any consumer requirement

Joachim Kuss

Carl Zeiss Vision

Phone: +49 7361 5578-1295

Fax:

E-Mail:

joachim.kuss@zeiss.com Number: 0099-2013-ENG EL

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