If you wear eyeglasses and spend a lot of time outdoors, you may want to consider prescription sunglasses. Providing convenience, comfort and protection, they can enhance your time outdoors. Frames, lenses, color, and tint are part of a wide range of options to consider when selecting a new pair of prescription sunglasses. The vision experts from EyeMed simplify the selection process to make it easy to find the perfect pair for your lifestyle and budget:

• Sporty and active? Polycarbonate lenses may be best for you. Lightweight and shatterproof, these lenses are ideal if you lead an active lifestyle or play sports. Polycarbonate naturally blocks almost all UV rays, so these glasses do not need additional UV coating. However, they can more easily scratch so use a lens hardener or similar coating to help protect them.
• Style guru? Try on high-index lenses. The lenses bend light more efficiently, meaning light travels faster through these lenses than traditional lenses. High-index lenses can offer the same degree of visual correction using less material, which results in thinner lenses and less weight to your sunglasses.
• Practical and polished? Optical glass lenses are ground and polished for distortion-free vision. They are extremely durable and scratch resistant. However, if you are one to easily lose sunglasses these may not be the best pick for you as they can be more expensive.
• Casual and cool? For those who want affordable sunglasses for every occasion, acrylic lenses are your go-to for inexpensive sunglasses. They are a good choice for casual or fashion sunglasses, and may be the best option those that want multiple pairs of prescription lenses.

No matter what type of prescription sunglasses you choose, be sure you select lenses that completely block the sun’s harmful UV rays. Optometrists recommend wearing sunglasses that deliver the highest level of UV protection — 99 to 100 percent¹.

 

^{1 American Optometric Association, “Sunglass Shopping Guide,” 2008.}