Does wearing sunglasses affect children's vision

Release time : 03/26/2025 09:30:01

According to the "Daily Quality Inspection Report" by CCTV: Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Treatment Center treated a child who, due to mismatching prescription glasses sold on the street for eye protection, developed myopia of 100 degrees in one year.

It's so hot out here, so if you love fashion, don’t forget to protect your skin from the sun-that's why sunglasses have become a must-have for young men and women heading out.

Whether it's for dressing up or protecting the sun, wearing sunglasses seems like a wise decision.

Wearing sunglasses when children go out can reduce the damage caused by the scorching sun to their eyes; however, poor sunglasses can be an "invisible killer" of children's eyes after wearing them.

Let's explore together whether children should wear sunglasses and whether wearing sunglasses can affect their eyesight, as well as how to choose quality hard-wearing children's sunglasses.

Children wearing sunglasses can affect their eyesight. The eyes are the most sensitive parts of the body to ultraviolet rays, and if exposed to intense sunlight without any sun protection measures, the eyes absorb various wavelengths of ultraviolet rays, which can lead to a decline in vision and cause iridocyclitis.

Thus, sunglasses that can block ultraviolet rays have emerged and become an essential item for fashionable women to go out in. They have also become a powerful tool for children's outdoor eye protection.

However, these sunglasses, which are endowed with a significant role, have actually caused the vision of children to worsen after wearing them! It's absolutely shocking and heartbreaking.

Blinding sunglasses with prescriptions and non-compliance can not only affect children's vision, but also induce some eye diseases.

The wearing of sunglasses with prescription lenses may affect children's vision, potentially causing blurred vision or symptoms of visual fatigue.

In fact, sunglasses that are of poor quality can also cause children's vision to decline after wearing them.

Children wearing sunglasses with inappropriate lenses will have their pupils dilated due to the opacity of the lenses and thus, more light enters their eyes.

However, due to its higher UV transmission ratio compared to the visible light, it can cause serious eye damage in children, leading to conditions such as keratitis and cataracts.

Parents, when choosing sunglasses for your child, it's best to opt for high-end brands that offer reliable quality.

When choosing sunglasses, use a straight reference point as the standard. Put on the glasses and slowly move your position. If you find that the straight object is bending, don't buy those sunglasses for your child.

When children are old enough to handle their own glasses, they should be given sunglasses. It is important not to treat sunglasses like playthings or simply pick them out at random.

Additionally, if the outdoor temperature is high, it is recommended to keep children indoors to protect their eyes and prevent heatstroke.

When should children wear sunglasses? Nowadays, it's peak travel season, and many parents take their children out to enjoy the outdoors. To shield them from the harsh sunlight, they might opt to put on sunglasses for protection. Some may also choose to dress their children in dark glasses to make them more stylish.

However, children under the age of 7 are not suitable for wearing sunglasses.

Children aged 3 to 6 are at a critical stage in their visual development, and wearing sunglasses during this time may affect their vision clarity. Therefore, it is recommended that parents wait until their child is 7 years old before they start wearing sunglasses for them.

In addition, sunglasses should not be worn continuously for more than 4 hours in the intense sunlight outdoors.

Can I wear sunglasses indoors? Maybe you will think that the darker the sunglasses, the better the shading effect will be.

However, it is risky to choose dark sunglasses. If the dark sunglasses do not have the ability to block ultraviolet rays, they will be the most damaging to the eyes.

In addition, children are not suitable for wearing dark sunglasses indoors.

Dark sunglasses should not be worn in children's rooms, otherwise they will damage their eyes.

Because the eyes will dilate their pupils in the dark, more ultraviolet light will enter the eyes, which will cause greater damage to the child's eyes.

In addition, red and orange lenses are not suitable for sunglasses. Red lenses have the worst absorption effect on ultraviolet light. It is best to choose high-quality polarized lenses such as green, gray, and brown with medium depth.

How to buy children's sunglasses? Children can wear sunglasses when they go out after they are 7 years old, but how to choose sunglasses that are UV resistant and will not harm their eyes? Let's take a look.

1. Select sunglasses with a "UV400" logo. The ultraviolet wavelength is below 400 nanometers. This logo states that it can resist ultraviolet light.

2. Choose sunglasses with the label "Blocks All UV Rays".

3. Lens selection is suitable for gray, brown and green lenses.

The color of sunglasses is generally medium depth.

Put the sunglasses in front of your eyes, observe the original target through the lenses, and move the sunglasses up and down back and forth. The target object will not swing and will deform in waves.

5. The lens should be smooth, without ripples, flaws, blisters, and wear marks.

Precautions for children wearing sunglasses: Children under the age of 6 are not suitable for wearing sunglasses. If you want to wear them, you should not wear them for too long, otherwise their vision may be affected.

When parents put sunglasses on their children, they can put them on in the sun fiercely and take them off in time after the sun weakens.

Don't be obsessed with dark sunglasses! Keep in mind that dark sunglasses do not necessarily mean that they have strong UV protection.

The darker the lens color, the stronger the shading effect. However, shading and UV protection are not the same concept. Whether a lens can block UV rays mainly depends on the material and coating of the lens.

Lenses cannot be made from glass! Glass lenses have poor impact resistance and are not safe.

Choose framed sunglasses! The size of the frame should be as suitable as possible for the child's face shape, and the sunglasses as close as possible to the eyes can better block the entry of ultraviolet rays.

But the frame should not be too heavy or too wide.

Don't store your sunglasses in air conditioners or high-temperature places! Don't leave your sunglasses on the dashboard of a car for long periods during the summer.

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* The medical content involved in this text is for reference only.

In the event of discomfort, it is advisable to seek medical attention immediately. The diagnosis and treatment are based on clinical examinations.