Eyes and sunglasses

[awol]

Twisted nematic LCDs use polarisation to produce their display. Adding another polariser with glasses can turn the display entirely black depending on the orientation. Active matrix displays don't have this problem. However, my ST50s still work well so no Polaroids™ for me.

 

[Seven Spades]

I've just been told that I have cataract problems and that UV at sea probably exacerbated this. "Quite young", the optician said. As a sailor she said I should have been wearing good quality sunglasses over the past 40 years. Of course I never did.

I was told only three months ago I have early signs and must wear sunglasses more often so I was encouraged to get reactorlight glasses for every day use, but honestly they are nowhere near strong enough compared to genuine sunglasses.

 

[colind3782]

Any links available for these problems? I'm interested on a professional level.

 

[alan_d]

A bit late, but it is not just cataracts that are caused by UV, but it also increases the risk of developing, AMD, age related macular degeneration. This destroys your central vision, and unlike cataracts there is no cure. You probably shouldn't drive if both eyes are affected, and reading the symbols on a chart even with a magnifier is difficult. So, wear sunglasses, your eyesight is priceless.

The evidence for UV exposure as a risk factor for AMD is not strong. Smoking and genetic factors are much more clearly implicated.

 

[Zing]

The main cause of adult blindness is actually type 2 diabetes, causing diabetic retinopathy. T2D is a disease a large percentage of us have at sub-clinical levels, and without symptoms until too late. It also is a major risk factor in developing cataracts at 3.5x.

https://medialibrary.nei.nih.gov/sites/default/files/media-images/NEI-medialibrary-6241697.jpg

 

[Fossil]

Cheap or expensive sunglasses - doesn't matter as long as they give good all-round protection and are polarised. And cataracts can generally be fixed, even if you have to go privately to have it done. I had mine done at the age of 76, and it has made a very considerable difference to my life - driving at night particularly. And in the post-op tests, I found that I could read the bottom line of the smallest type they had on the opthalmic test charts, so that's all good, too.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

A bit late, but it is not just cataracts that are caused by UV, but it also increases the risk of developing, AMD, age related macular degeneration. This destroys your central vision, and unlike cataracts there is no cure. You probably shouldn't drive if both eyes are affected, and reading the symbols on a chart even with a magnifier is difficult. So, wear sunglasses, your eyesight is priceless.

I wondered how long into this thread it would take before there was mention of AMD. It destroyed my father's eyesight, completely, by the time he died, in his mid-eighties.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Concern regarding the hole in the ozone layer and consequent UV-related eye, and skin, damage was just becoming generally discussed in the media around the time that our kids had finished coming on holiday with us. We decided we should stop having sun holidays on the beach, and looked for some other, less UV-intensive kind of activity around which to spend our leisure time. We chose sailing , duh!

 

[alan_d]

I wondered how long into this thread it would take before there was mention of AMD. It destroyed my father's eyesight, completely, by the time he died, in his mid-eighties.

The evidence for UV exposure being a risk factor for AMD is not strong (compared with age, race/ethnicity, smoking, and family history).