Do I Need Prescription Sunglasses?

Do you need prescription sunglasses? It depends on your prescription, of course, but it also depends in part on what you are doing while you are wearing your sunglasses. If you wear contact lenses you are set--the contacts cover your distance vision, and all you have to do is get the perfect sunglass lens for your activity. But if you wear glasses on a daily basis you might consider putting a prescription into a high-quality pair of sunglasses.

At Skyvision Centers we make it a point to carry sunwear that can be "Rx'ed". Our Maui Jim, Kaenon, Nike, and Oakley lines can all be made with your regular prescription. Even your bifocal prescription! There are some other options, too. We have the entire spectrum of Transitions lenses available, including the revolutionary "Drivewear" lens that changes color in the car! On top of all that, you can add a magnetic clip-on to many of our highest high fashion frames when it gets sunny.

Whether its' golf, biking, tennis, or just reading this summer's blockbuster on the beach, we can outfit you with a pair of high-quality, hi-def sunglasses with YOUR prescription to maximize your vision outdoors. It's just one more way that we are changing the face of vision care. Vision Redesigned!

What Color Sunglass Lens For Driving?

For many of us the most frequent use of sunglasses is while we are driving. Polarization is a big help here since using polarized lenses of any color will dramatically reduce the glare that comes off the hood of the car and from other cars. Most of the better sunglass manufacturers like Maui Jim, Oakley, Kaenon, and Nike offer polarized options.

The color you use to drive depends on your personal preference more than anything else. Lenses that have brown tints will preserve your color appreciation to a greater degree than any of the other colors so we will typically suggest brown for driving and general purpose wear. Dr. White wears his Maui Jim Brown HD's all the time! (By the way, these are NOT Dr. White's!)

How about Transition lenses, lenses that change color to become darker when you are outside? For most of these lenses the change occurs when they are exposed to UV light. Your windshield and your car windows effectively block out all of the UV light so regular Transitions will NOT get dark inside the car.

Stay tuned for more scoop on Sunglass Lens colors!

What's The Deal With Polarization?

What exactly is polarization? Are all sunglasses polarized? Should they be?

Let's talk a little bit about what polarization is first. When light comes out of a single source, or point source, the light rays come out in an infinite number of directions. Kind of like the light coming from a star or street light. Polarized light is light that is traveling in only one direction or plane.

There are lots of times when polarized light is created naturally. Think of sunlight bouncing off of a snow-covered field or the surface of a pond. There are also lots of times when reflected light is NOT polarized, like the reflection off the chrome bumper of that car that was in front of you this morning on the highway! We can use polarized lenses in our sunglasses to choose exactly which type of light we see.

We can minimize glare while driving by wearing polarized sunglasses. Most reflected light is parallel to the ground; polarized sunglasses will block out these rays, allowing vertical rays to come through the lenses. The same thing is true on the water. When you are boating or fishing you can reduce glare by wearing polarized sunglasses.

Not all sunglasses are polarized. In fact, there are times when you DON'T want to have your sunglasses polarized. On the golf course polarization will make everything seem flat. Imagine how hard it would be to putt if you couldn't see the break on the greens!

Come visit us at the Sky vision Centers Optical to see our polarized sunglasses from Oakley, Nike, and Maui Jim!

Protect Your LASIK Investment!

OK...you've gone and done it! You had LASIK!! You now have fantastic distance vision without wearing glasses or contact lenses. You are free to do all the stuff you love to do without having your contacts fog up or your glasses slip off your nose. Now what?

Dr. Darrell White, one of Cleveland, Ohio's most experienced LASIK surgeons tells every one of our Skyvision Centers LASIK patients that it is vitally important to protect your eyes from Ultraviolet light after Laser Vision Correction, whether you had LASIK or PRK. Not only that, but you can actually enhance your vision and your visual performance by choosing thetype of sunglasses after your LASIK.

The basic advice is the same for everyone. You have to come in at the RayBan level of UV protection. If you have a pair of RayBans, or if you have a fashion frame like Fendi or Marc Jacobs which have RayBan-like lenses, you are OK as far as UV protection goes. As you move UP the sunglass food chain the UV protection is the same but the quality of your vision is enhanced. Nike, Oakley, Kaenon...better vision and some really cool activity-specific options like the unbelievable Nike Golf Tint in their MaxTint series.

The top of the sunglasses food chain is Maui Jim. Dr. White has been known to wear multiple different Maui Jim's because he loves how they improve his vision! They are polarized, have special coatings to shed water --they were developed by surfers, after all--and they come in three distinct shades: Bronze, Gray, and Rose. They're just FANTASTIC!!

So congratulations on your LASIK. Now it's time to protect your investment, and why not see even BETTER while you're at it. Get a high quality pair of sunglasses!