Are you getting enough bang for your buck with sunglasses?

July 15, 2010

Now that the summer is in full swing it it also time to protect our eyes from the sun's harmful UV rays. Many experts, including the American Optometric Association, say that sunglasses are extremely important in protecting our eye health during the summer months. But are your shades really doing their job?

According to The Wall Street Journal, spending upward of $500, if prescription lenses are needed, may not be worth the hit your wallet may take.

The news source reports that popular brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley, Chanel and Prada are all manufactured by the Italian company Luxottica.

"A significant chunk of what you pay for isn't the quality of the lenses, it's the brand," Dr Reza Dana, director of the cornea and refractive surgery service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, told the news source.

He also added that making lenses that offer protection against the sun "isn't very expensive technology."

Dr Jay Duker, chair of ophthalmology at Tufts Medical Center, told the news provider that there are sunglasses that offer 100 percent UV protection for under $100, individuals just have to do some research to find the deals.