Who Should Wear Sunglasses?

 Ultimately, everyone should care about their vision and want to protect it. However, there are certain groups of individuals that should especially wear sunglasses. This is for their safety, and the safety of others.

Drivers are one very important group that should always have sunglasses handy. Whether you are driving your own vehicle or a bus full of people, the sun can be your enemy. Picture driving westbound down the highway at 6:00 PM, coming up over a hill and being pelted in the face with the sun's glaring rays. This temporary blinding could cause you not to see the traffic that stopped 50 feet in front of you. Accidents like this can be avoided by always having sunglasses in your vehicle.

Professional drivers have an even greater need for sunglasses than the rest of us. Because they are often driving larger vehicles such as school busses or tanker trucks, their risk is much greater. If these drivers lose control of their vehicle, it is much more difficult to gain control. Again, simply by wearing sunglasses, these drivers can help avoid tragedy.

It is very important that children be taught from an early age to wear sunglasses. By enforcing this from early childhood, you are creating habits they will carry with them. In addition to teaching them that sunglasses are always important, you are protecting very delicate eyes as well. Children, especially the very young, are constantly growing and developing in every way. Protecting their eyes with sunglasses from the start will reduce the damage they will pay for later in life.

Even babies can wear sunglasses. Besides being ridiculously cute, baby sunglasses are made for a reason. Babies are, for all intents and purposes brand new, and so are their eyes. A child begins their life by being able to focus on objects only less than ten inches from their face. A pair of baby sunglasses will keep harmful rays out of your baby's young, sensitive eyes.

Anyone who spends an uncommonly large amount of time in the sun should know the advantages of sunglasses. If you are particularly interested in water sports and spend a lot of time at the beach or on a lake, you could be at greater risk than most. Surfers, water-skiers and wake boarders can testify that a good pair of protective sunglasses will save a lifetime of hardship. The sun reflecting off of the water into your eyes can intensify the damage it could do. Find a good pair of water sunglasses, which will wrap around your head and stay in place while you ride the waves.

Elderly individuals are another group of people to whom eye protection should be important. As age progresses, the eyesight deteriorates in even the healthiest of eyes. Older individuals should always wear sunglasses when outside in the sun. Sunglasses won't stop the vision from going south, but it may slow the process. One thing is certain, blinding sun in the eyes will speed it up the deterioration.