Children's sunglasses. Ophthalmologist's advice

A few words about the age at which kids can wear sunglasses. Tips and tricks for choosing sunglasses for children. There is a common misconception that sunglasses for children should be bought from adolescence, and young children should not buy them. This is fundamentally wrong, since children's eyes are most vulnerable to ultraviolet radiation, which means that with prolonged exposure to the sun, a child's eyes can get severely burned, and the skin around the eyes can suffer no less. To prevent this from happening, it is enough to have children's sunglasses among the baby's things, which you can buy in the Real Kids online store.

Growing up, children spend more and more time outdoors. But unlike adults, they don't know the damage direct sunlight can do to their eyes. Adults should take care of eye protection, moreover, it is not so difficult to do this. Buying sunglasses for children is not difficult. To do this, you don’t even need to leave your home: just take advantage of the offers of the Real Kids store, whose assortment includes high-quality, safe, comfortable and stylish glasses of the American brand of the same name.

When choosing sunglasses for a child, the following points should be considered:

• Most toy sunglasses cannot provide adequate UV protection to the eyes, and if damaged, they can pose a risk to the baby.
• Tinted lenses in some cases are not reliable protection from the sun. Only high-quality certified models guarantee that the glasses will protect the child's eyes from the sun and will not harm them.
• Only a high-quality darkening coating that meets the requirements of the standards will provide effective protection, only correct and uniform darkening will eliminate the negative consequences of wearing sunglasses.
• Children's sunglasses should be comfortable, when turning or tilting the head, they should not slip on the nose or even fly off.
• Glasses should please the child, otherwise, at the first opportunity, the baby will get rid of them.

In the Real Kids online store, you can buy sunglasses for children that embody ergonomics, stylish design, reliable sun protection, impact resistance and an affordable price. Both the frame and lenses of this brand's glasses are strong enough to provide maximum safety during the most active children's games.

Sunglasses are both a fashion accessory and a way to protect your eyes from the bright sun. And, if most adults do not deny themselves this necessary attribute of summer (and winter, especially when it comes to ski resorts), then children have a much more difficult time. Not every parent is ready to buy good sunglasses for their child, citing the fact that he can inadvertently break them, lose them, or simply grow out of them in a year. But is it worth saving on the health of your child, considering him too small to wear sunglasses? Elena Chaiko helped Healthy people to understand this issue.

Elena Chaiko

Member of the charity project of the Belarusian Children's Fund and velcom "I see!", which is supported by the Ministry of Health.

Elena Chaiko

Ophthalmologist at Mozyr City Children's Hospital

The formation of the child's visual apparatus is a long process. It is finally formed and ready for the perception of information only by 7-10 years. In the first days of life, children are characterized by farsightedness, the degree of which decreases as the child grows. At the same time, the color of the eyes with which the child was born gradually changes during the growth period, acquiring an individual shade. By 2-4 months, the function of the lacrimal gland is formed. By the age of 4, color vision in children is well developed, but continues to improve in the future. By the age of 6-7, visual acuity increases from 0.02-0.1 to 1.0.

The influence of external factors exerted on any of the stages can lead to a violation of the process of maturation of the child's organ of vision. Especially when it comes to ultraviolet. Just imagine, in a child under 10 years old, three-quarters of the radiation falls directly on the retina due to the fact that the lens cannot yet fully perform its function of a “filter”. At the same time, just 40 minutes spent in the sun is equivalent to 2 hours spent in front of the TV!

Sunglasses for children - a whim or a necessity?

Intense ultraviolet radiation has a harmful effect on the entire eye, can cause:

In the bright sun, a hat with a visor is not enough. Sunglasses will help protect children's eyes from UV rays. Taking care of eye health from early childhood is the prevention of vision problems in adulthood. Therefore, if you are going on vacation with your family to hot countries or decide to spend a vacation in the mountains, or just spend a lot of time in the bright sun, then it is better for your child to buy sunglasses.

Elena Chaiko

Ophthalmologist at Mozyr City Children's Hospital

A child can use sunglasses from the age of 1, if he is not naughty and does not reject them (and even at 7 months if the parents went to a ski resort). But more often, children begin to wear glasses by the age of 3-4, when the desire to explore the world around them is strongest.

Expert advice on choosing the right sunglasses for your child

BUT) choose sunglasses for your child with lenses with diopters and photochromic coating(chameleon lenses), in which the child will be comfortable both indoors and outdoors;

B) ordinary lenses with diopters, having a color tint (gray, brown, gray-green).

• In an optics shop, you can measure the UV protection of a lens using special optical equipment. It must be at least 70%.

Usually, in the manufacture of children's sunglasses, serious manufacturing companies take into account all these factors and develop a stylish children's design.

The child must be taught to use glasses:

• wipe them from dirt;
• correctly put on the surface with the glasses up.

Scratched or cracked lenses must be replaced as it is dangerous for the eyes.

As the child grows, do not forget to change the glasses to a larger size. This usually happens once every 1-2 years.

Don't skimp on your child's vision. Sunglasses will protect your child's eyes in the summer from the blinding sun, and in the winter from ultraviolet reflected from the snow.

Subscribe to our channel atTelegram groups in

There are European, American, Australian quality requirements for sunglasses (OTC).

Standardization goes in two directions:

Security:

• the quality of the material from which the frame is made (non-toxic in contact with skin, non-flammable);
• quality of processing (grinding and polishing) of lenses;
• impact resistance;

Efficiency:

• the degree of transmission of UV rays.

What are ultraviolet rays (UV)

Ultraviolet radiation UVR is the invisible part of the spectrum, measured in nanometers. 1 nm = one billionth of a meter (10 to the -9th power).

Depending on the wavelength, there are:
UVA 315–400 nm
UVB 280-315nm
UVC 100-280nm

UVA penetrates deep into tissues but is not as damaging as UVB because it has less photon energy than UVB.
UVB is considered the most dangerous to humans, although most of these rays are absorbed by the atmosphere.
UVCs are all absorbed by the atmosphere and do not reach the Earth's surface.

It has been established that the lens of the eye contains 0-beta-3-hydroxykynurenine, which absorbs UVA and thus protects the retina. When UV rays enter the eye, the main load falls on the cornea and lens, then the vitreous body and retina suffer.

The most dangerous UV for children under 10 years. Therefore, children need sunglasses more than adults.

There are three main quality standards for sunglasses:
- European standard (EN 1836:2005);
- Australian standard (AS/NZ 1067:2003);
- American standard (ANSI Z80.3-2001).

The European standard distinguishes 4 degrees of protection against UV:

• 0 - insufficient protection;
• 2 - sufficient protection;
• 6 - good protection;
• 7 - full protection.

The more UV absorption, the darker the lenses.

By and large, all three classifications are close - the gradation moves from a weak UV absorption to a stronger one. The difference is that at maximum UV protection, European standards allow an error of 5%, while US standards require almost 100% UV blocking.

European 6th and 7th degrees of protection correspond to Australian 3rd and 4th degrees, and are recommended for children depending on the brightness of sunlight.

European 7th degree and Australian 4th degree are prohibited for use while driving a vehicle.

If sunglasses comply with European quality standards, there is a CE marking (Conformite Europeenne) on the temple or on the label. All goods sold in European countries have this marking. Glasses made in the USA are labeled 400UV or UV100%.

Sunglass lenses are made using special chemicals or coatings to effectively absorb UV rays.

Sunglass lenses are made from glass, plastic, and polycarbonate.

Lenses made of polycarbonate are considered optimal for children because they are impact-resistant and, therefore, safe. They have one drawback - they are easily damaged. Therefore, a special protective coating is applied to polycarbonate lenses (as a rule, these are sports glasses).

The quality of the lenses themselves is also extremely important for glasses. To determine this characteristic, there is a very simple method. Place the glasses at a comfortable distance from your face, cover one eye, and look through the center of the lens at an object that has straight lines (preferably in the shape of a rectangle) with the other. Slowly move the glasses up and down, from right to left. If there is no distortion of the lines, the lenses are of good quality.

It should be remembered that photochromic, polarized and mirrored lenses do not provide UV protection on their own and must also be labeled for UV protection.

An important point is the shape of the glasses. If bright sunlight enters the eyes over the top of the glasses or from the side, this will drastically reduce the effectiveness of the glasses themselves. Therefore, glasses should fit snugly on the nose, and the length of the temples should correspond to the shape of the child's face in order to ensure that the glasses fit the skin of the face as much as possible without causing discomfort. In this case, you should pay attention to the fact that the eyelashes do not rest against the glass.

For children with farsightedness, who are forced to wear glasses all the time, it is advisable to purchase glasses with a slight darkening of the lenses for the summer.

And now about the myths and misconceptions about sunglasses.

1. The darker the glass, the better the protection.

If the lenses in sunglasses are made of ordinary plastic, then the darker they are, the more dangerous for the eye. The darker the lens, the wider the pupils, the more UV penetrates into the eyes, the more negative the consequences. This is especially dangerous for children, so children under 10 years of age should either buy sunglasses that meet all sanitary requirements, or not buy any at all.

1. The higher the price, the better the quality.

Australian ophthalmologists, while examining the quality of sunglasses (from different countries and different brands), found that high cost does not guarantee high quality.

At the same time, protecting the eyes from the sun, one should not forget that light is extremely important for the development and full functioning of some brain structures.

Do kids need sunglasses? Ophthalmologists say they are necessary. Let's see why children wear this trendy summer accessory, why it is necessary to protect the child's eyes from a very early age and how to choose the right glasses.

There is an opinion that a child does not need sunglasses. They say that the eyes themselves must adapt to sunlight. But ophthalmologists refute this statement, citing serious arguments: most vision problems in adults are the result of exposure to the sun without safety glasses in childhood and adolescence.

This is due to the fact that the lens in children is not fully formed and colorless, so their retina receives much more ultraviolet radiation than in adults. It is especially dangerous to be under the scorching rays of the sun for representatives of the light color of the iris.

Children's sunglasses are designed for several age categories:

— from 1 to 3 years;

— from 3 to 7 years;

— from 7 to 12 years;

Babies under 6 months of age should not be exposed to direct sunlight at all. Once they reach 6 months of age, they should wear sunglasses when out in the sun. If the child already has visual impairments and needs to wear glasses specially selected by the doctor, then sunglasses should be selected taking into account the need for vision correction.

Glasses, like shoes, need to be bought only with a fitting. This accessory should sit well: do not slip on the nose, do not squeeze the head with the temples, do not distort the picture, do not disturb the coordination of movements.

Glasses must have a label indicating the manufacturer and the material from which the frame and lenses are made. On the frame itself, the category of protection against ultraviolet radiation must be indicated without fail. The manufacturer's markings are placed on the inside of the left temple. In addition, real, branded glasses have an individual number printed on one of the temples.

If you are with a child at a resort in southern countries or mountains, then glasses must be worn all the time. In the south, even in bright cloudy weather, there are many scattered rays, from which the eyes suffer even more than from direct ones. Never take off your glasses when swimming or at the beach. Glasses, in addition to harmful sunlight, will additionally protect your baby's eyes from dust, insects and water.

If you live or are in mid-latitudes, then glasses must be on your nose after 11 o'clock in the afternoon and before 17 o'clock in the evening.

But without special need to constantly wear glasses throughout the day is not worth it. With a short and inactive exposure, sunlight makes the eye muscle work, thereby training it. Therefore, in soft daylight or twilight, it is very useful for the eyes of children to be without glasses. Yes, and adults too.

The child must know the rules for using glasses, be able to wipe them and put them on the surface correctly - glasses up. Scratched or cracked lenses must be replaced immediately, as damaged glasses are much more dangerous to vision than their absence.

It is not enough to buy the first sunglasses that came across from the subway. In this case, you are more likely to harm children's eyes. Therefore, when choosing the right sun protection, follow a few rules:

glasses material. It must be hypoallergenic and safe. Glasses must be made of high quality plastic. Spectacle frames must be either plastic or nickel-free metal alloy.

Lenses. This is perhaps the most important part in glasses. They must be made of polycarbonate. It is durable, almost does not beat and does not scratch. Glasses made of polycarbonate plastic - lightweight and distortion-free.

Avoid glasses made of acrylic plastic as it has little to no effect on harmful radiation. As you know, the natural protective function of the pupil is to narrow when bright light hits it. With acrylic plastic, this reaction stops working, so the pupil remains wide, allowing harmful UV rays to pass through unhindered. Acrylic lenses do not break, but scratch easily and almost always produce severe distortion, which is very harmful to vision. It is glasses made of acrylic plastic that are sold at most street stalls.

Glasses with glass are not suitable for children due to the fact that they are very fragile and easily break into small fragments. Save this accessory for yourself.

Lens color. The most favorable for the physiology of the human eye is a neutral gray color. Available in green and brown shades. The lenses should not be too dark, otherwise the child will simply go blind when entering the room. But in no case should you buy glasses with yellow, orange, blue and purple lenses. Yellow and orange glasses do not provide sufficient protection, and blue and violet glasses are generally harmful, as they cause the pupil to dilate and increase the amount of UV radiation absorbed.

Degree of protection of lenses against UV. Find goggles that block 99-100% of all UVL spectra (both UVL Spectrum A and UVL Spectrum B). A UV 400 (UVB) or G-15 filter is 100% UV protection. For kids, the G-20 is considered the best filter option - this is a gray filter that transmits 15% of the light and delays 85%.

Fastening. Sunglasses must be firmly attached to the child's head. The temples must be flexible, as rigid temples can rub against the delicate skin of the child.

frame. Here, of course, the child himself chooses or you, together with the child, which form of glasses to prefer. But remember that a thin frame will not be able to protect the child's eyes from the side.