Healthy Eyes for a Healthy Family

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I wrote this review while participating in an influencer campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of HealthyWomen and VISTAKON® Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. and received a promotional item from Mom Central to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Courtesy of Malkav

According to researchers it is estimated that a significant amount of lifetime exposure to UV rays may occur by age 18 and that children’s annual dose of radiation may be up to three times that of adults.  One of the most important accessories children could have is appropriate eyewear when exposed to the sun.

Healthy eyes are important to me because all three of us in our family wear corrective lenses. We go annually for comprehensive eye exams (I actually just booked our yearly appointments yesterday), but honestly even with all I do to try and ensure my family’s eye health I have completely failed when it comes to UV rays.  We were always out in the sun when our daughter was little and it never occurred to me to have sunglasses for her to protect her eyes from them, I actually always thought that sunglasses for little ones were kind of silly.  Guess who feels silly now though?!  Yep that would be me!

I think a lot of parents, like myself, are unaware of the importance of protecting their family’s eyes from UV rays, and it isn’t just our children we should be worried about, us adults have to be mindful of it too.  If you’re planning to be out in the sun, the best protection for your eyes is a combination of sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and if you wear contact lenses like I do…UV-blocking contact lenses.

Through this Mom Central Influencer Program I learned about contact lenses that are UV blocking for an added layer of protection.  They are made by ACUVUE® and are available under the name OASYS® or they also have 1-DAY ACUVUE® TruEye® which are daily disposable ones.  Both of those offer the highest level of UV-blocking available in a contact lens.*

It surprised me to learn that only 2% of contact lens wearers follow all the rules for safe use!  But I admit to being a guilty part of the 98%…especially when traveling.  Then I’ll sometimes sleep in my lenses (that’s a no-no) and sometimes rather than cleaning out my case and using fresh solution, I’ll just top off what’s already in it (eep!  I know bad me).  I needed a big reminder on the proper contact lens wear and care, you can see some tips for that here: http://bit.ly/17QUAKK.  One tip I didn’t know was that contacts and water don’t mix.  Now I’ve never swam with my contacts in, but I do shower with them a lot, and I guess that’s something you’re not supposed to do because of the impurities in tap water.  So that’s something I’m going to try and work on and remember to take my contacts out before I shower (or not put them in until after I shower).

My family has always trusted ACUVUE® when it comes to contact lenses.  It’s the brand I currently use, and Courtesy of Starck TingI’m definitely going to be asking my optometrist about these UV-blocking varieties when I go for my appointment in a couple of weeks.

If you’re going to be getting eye health check ups soon, you can ask your eye care professional which type of sunglasses provides the best protection against UV rays, and if you’re a contact lens wearer make sure to ask about the ACUVUE® contact lenses with the UV-blocking to see if they’re right for you.  To read more fast facts about the sun & your eyes and what you need to know, visit www.HealthyWomen.org.

If you want more information about eye health, UV rays and their effects on your eyes, plus other tips, visit the HealthyWomen.org “Eye Health Center.”

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