Remember to protect your eyes from UV rays and blue light with good quality sunglasses.

All of our sunglasses at Matheson Eyewear protect your eyes from UVA, UVB, UVB and blue light.

According to the American Optometric Association, if your eyes are exposed to excessive amounts of UV radiation over a short period of time, you are likely to experience an effect called photokeratitis.

Like a “sunburn of the eye”, photokeratitis may be painful and include symptoms such as red eyes, a foreign body sensation or gritty feeling in the eyes, extreme sensitivity to light and excessive tearing. Fortunately, this is usually temporary and rarely causes permanent damage to the eyes.

Long-term exposure to UV radiation, however, can be more serious. Scientific studies and research have shown that exposure to small amounts of UV radiation over a period of many years increases the chance of developing a cataract and may cause damage to the retina, a nerve-rich lining of the eye that is used for seeing. Additionally, chronic exposure to shorter wavelength visible light (i.e. blue and violet light) may also be harmful to the retina.

The longer the eyes are exposed to solar radiation, the greater the risk of developing later in life such conditions as cataracts or macular degeneration. Since it is not clear how much exposure to solar radiation will cause damage, the AOA recommends wearing quality sunglasses that offer UV protection and wearing a hat or cap with a wide brim whenever you spend time outdoors. Also,certain contact lenses can provide additional UV protection.

To provide adequate protection for your eyes, sunglasses should:

• block out 99 to 100 percent of both UV-A and UV-B radiation;
• screen out 75 to 90 percent of visible light;
• be perfectly matched in color and free of distortion and imperfection; and
• have lenses that are gray for proper color recognition.

The lenses in sunglasses should be made from polycarbonate or Trivex® material if you participate in potentially eye-hazardous work or sports. These lenses provide the most impact resistance.

If you spend a lot of time outdoors in bright sunlight, wrap around frames can provide additional protection from the harmful solar radiation.

Don’t forget protection for children and teenagers. They typically spend more time in the sun than adults.

You can learn more about UV protection at the UV protection page of the American Optometric Association and from this All About Vision article, Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation and Your Eyes.

All of our sunglasses protect your eyes form UVA, UVB, UVB and the blue light spectrum.

3 hot brands right now are Maui Jim, Zeal and Carrera. We also carry sunglasses from VANNI, Glossi, Ray-Ban, Wylie X and more.

Stop in and see us soon!

ZEAL Optics sunglasses include the same high-quality lenses used for Maui Jim’s and start at $89.

Many styles and colours available at Matheson Eyewear!

Sunglasses features include:

• Hyperion™ Lens Technology for High Definition clarity

• Polarized for Your Protection and Performance

• Hyperion Lenses embed new highly specialized SPF film and formulated resins to significantly reduce the sun’s glare by 99 percent, cut 100 percent of UVA, UVB and UVC • Bio-Powered Z Resin™ Frames

• Hypoallergenic ProFlex Rubber™

• Injection Molded Lens Technology

• Available in Prescription

Lenses feature High Definition Clarity and are Polarized for your protection.

Get yours for Spring and Summer 2012 at Matheson Eyewear!

Frames are fashioned out of strips of multicolour acetate combined with plain-coloured plastic, or single-colour patterns going with Havana brown and bright, bright colours, both shiny and matte.

VANNI collections in store now!  You can also check out pictures from the Happy Days Collection and the Mech-Flex Collection.

GREAT DEAL!!!!! Come in to see one of our Licensed Opticians today

Need more information about Transitions lenses? Talk to us or visit the Transitions website.

Transitions lenses quickly adjust and adapt in changing light to help protect from the sun’s rays and enhance the vision of eyeglass wearers.

As mentioned in our 1st VANNI post, the VANNI collections are very popular at Matheson Eyewear.

The frames fit many of our customers well and many people are becoming repeat VANNI customers!

We now have the 2012 collections in our store.  Here are some pics of the 2012 Mech Flex Collection.  Photos of other collections coming soon.

At Matheson Eyewear, you can be assured you are dealing with Licensed Opticians.

Your vision is too precious to take a chance. See a Licensed Optician for the very best vision care, because in Canada, Opticians are regulated and licensed to ensure the highest standard of care and ethical practice.

A Licensed Optician is a health professional who works with you to understand your daily vision needs so as to create, with technical precision, lenses that are exactly correct so that you see clearly without eye strain or headaches from wrong lenses.

Looking for some sunshine? Check out this Maui Jim video, Young at Heart, filmed in Hawaii.