Summer is here and whether you’re fishing, boating, at the beach or just out for a walk, we all know that when living in New Zealand, the first thing we put on over summer is a high SPF sunscreen that protects our skin against UVA and UVB rays.

But what about eye protection?

Prolonged periods of exposure to sunlight can cause serious damage to your eyes: not only to the cornea, but also the lens of the eye itself. Sun protection for our eyes is extremely important – not only in the summer months, but all year round. At John O’Oconnor we advise that you take the protection of your eyes seriously and we are proud to offer Hoya lenses – the ultimate in cutting-edge lens coatings, tinted eyeglasses, and sunglasses.

We’re serious about eye protection, so let’s look at a few options to save your precious sight.

Sunglasses

Sunglasses protect your eyesight from glare and the sun’s damaging UV rays. But not all sunglasses are created equal.

Tinted lenses or polarised lenses

While tinted sunglasses are great for reducing brightness, they don’t necessarily eliminate harsh glare like polarised sunglasses can. Polarised lenses are coated with a special chemical film that helps reduce glare. They not only reduce glare caused by water, flat roads and windscreens, they also enhance visual clarity and contrast and reduce eye strain. If you’re shopping for sunglasses that reduce glare, you’ll also want to look for glasses with UV protection.

NuPolar Lenses – these polarised lenses eliminate excessive brightness and glare. They provide 100% UV protection and increase visual clarity and colour perception.

If you use a prescription, you can still wear polarised lenses. Prescription polarised sunglasses using HOYA’s NuPolar lenses provide the ultimate in glare protection.

Prescription sunglasses

Prescription sunglasses not only correct your vision, they also protect it. Our opticians strongly recommend you wear prescription sunglasses while out in the New Zealand sun. We can provide a sunglass lens tailored to your prescription, to keep your eyes protected while giving you a clear view. Seek the advice of our optometrists when choosing prescription sunglasses. At John O’Oconnor, we offer a fashionable selection of shapes, designer frames and colours.

Transition lenses

Light reactive lenses, transition or photochromic lenses, protect the eyes by absorbing harmful UV light. To protect your eyes they instantly detect the presence of UV rays and change accordingly; they darken to sunglasses outdoors and lighten to clear indoors.

At John O’Connor Optometrists we stock HOYA Sensity, the latest innovation in photochromic lenses. The advanced technology in these light-reactive lenses means they now react more consistently to light, UV and temperature, providing 100% UV protection.

We also stock a large range of fashionable and practical frames, which can be custom designed to suit your lifestyle and visual needs. Talk to our eye experts. They’ll help you choose the right lenses for your lifestyle and frames for your face.

For the best eye protection, come and talk to us or call 09 522 1283 to speak to our Newmarket optometrists. To speak to an optometrist in Henderson call 09 836 1731.