The Polarized Express
Get your patients on the visual fast track with polarized lenses for day-to-day activities, as well as hobbies, sports, driving, marine, and medical situations
By Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC

Here are details on why polarized sunwear is critical for these categories.

1. SPORT SPECIFIC

Polarized lenses are recommended for outdoor sports for primarily for protection of the eye from glare and ultraviolet rays. Glare can hurt performance and potentially result in an injury to the athlete in an accident caused by distracting or dangerous glare.

When recommending polarized lenses for active adults and children be sure that the lenses will fulfill Duty to Warn requirements. Lenses should be impact resistant and be able to pass Z-87.1 standards for high impact.

Key instances where polarized lenses are a sports necessity are in high light conditions such as climbing, snow sports, high altitudes, and marine activities. Windy conditions like those found on the water, on the road, and on the mountain call for polarized glare protection to ease eyestrain. Pairing polarized lenses with close-fitting, wrap-type frames with optional built-in or removable side protection to alleviate dry eye and non-slip frame, cable temples, or a sports band to prevent eyewear loss creates a full eyeware package.

Glare protection from polarized lenses is particularly important at the beach or on the water

Today, polarized lens colors can be targeted for every outdoor sport. By filtering out specific colors from the spectrum, tinted polarized lenses can help enhance sports and task-specific activities.

But, be aware that some patients prefer out-of-the-norm colors. For example, yellow lenses are the traditional color for shooting sports; however, some hunters prefer copper or vermillion tints. Amber/rose lenses are typically recommended
for snow skiing, but some skiers pick yellow or copper.

Correct polarized color choices are often dependent on climate and environment. And a full day's sports may require a change in eyewear.

A golfer may start playing on a misty morning and end the round past noon with bright sun overhead. A brown-toned polarized lens may work better for the morning, while a gray polarized lens is better for midday.

Some sports eyewear systems come with removable and insertable lens choices, such as a gray polarized lens and a lighter brown polarized lens. This was traditionally a plano option, but check with manufacturers since some can be Rxable depending on the frame style and prescription.

The polarized color goal is to cut glare and provide the best visual acuity for the best performance.

Some recommendations for the right colors for various functions are:

Gray: All-purpose, true color vision, driving, some sports

Brown: All-purpose, driving, some sports

Amber: Morning outdoor activities, driving, for visual definition and low light conditions

Yellow: Hunting/shooting, depth perception, visual acuity in low light/early a.m./late p.m.

Red/Vermillion/Copper: Skiing, ice skating, climbing, fishing, bright light conditions

2. DRIVING DEFINITE

The number-one consideration for polarized eyewear as a necessity for driving is safety. Visual comfort is an important second consideration, but personal safety and the safety of others is always paramount.

At work or play, polarized lenses are important outside

Polarized lenses should be worn whenever the task or pleasure of driving occurs. This includes going to and from work, during work if the profession includes driving, for pleasure, for errands, and for driving hobbies and sports. Basically, any time anyone is behind the wheel in a glare-producing environment, polarized sunwear is a must-wear.

Some professions calling for polarized lenses include sales people who are on the road between sales calls, city workers (waste
management, police/fire/utilities), professional drivers (mail and package delivery, taxi/ limo drivers, truckers), and any other profession that calls for in-and-out of the vehicle trips or work.

Just because someone's not driving for the majority of the day doesn't mean that they don't need polarized lenses. Driving directly into sunlight and with reflected light has been documented in causing accidents, injury, and even death.

Most of the accidents occurred in early morning or late afternoon, primary rush hours when drivers were heading east or west with the sun low on the horizon and shining into their eyes.

Road glare is caused from surface reflection. These reflections can come from any surface including reflected light from another vehicle or windshield, buildings, sand, or the roadway itself. Bright sunlight combined with rain on the road or snow can cause intense glare, creating additional danger.

A fact every patient needs to know is that blinding glare, intense glare, and distracting glare on the road can be significantly minimized with polarized sunwear. Darker polarized lenses can help reduce the light's intensity, so a dark gray or brown polarized lens will work in high-light, high-reflective situations.

For less bright conditions, a lighter tint density and/or color will keep reflection at bay and add to visual comfort on the road by reducing "soft glare."

Some eyecare practitioners keep clippings of accidents caused by glare on hand to show patients the need for polarized sunwear, in addition to a polarized demonstrator unit with a driving motif. They also offer take-home literature and polarized demos for patients to try on their own.

3. MARINE MATTERS

Polarized lenses are a natural on and around the water. Fishing, sailing, and boating professionals consider polarized sunwear part of their equipment and wear only polarized sunwear on the water, since polarized products outperform other sunwear in this environment.

In addition to cutting glare from the water, equipment, other boats, buildings, and beaches, polarized lenses offer a water performance edge by facilitating accurate depth perception and definition.

Water glare may vary depending on sun conditions. Intense overhead sun may call for a dark polarized lens, while morning or late afternoon sun may call for a lighter tint in a different color.

Traditionally, gray polarized len-ses have been recommended for deep (blue water) fishing, while brown polarized lenses have been recommended for shallow (brown water) fishing. However, some experts suggest that brown is the preferred polarized lens color for deep water fishing due to its ability to reduce glare in bright sun plus heighten vision in low light conditions.

For shallow water, amber polarized lenses are recommended to eliminate top-water glare and avoid image flattening, allowing contrast between the fish and the background.

Durable polarized sunwear may be required for heavier activities. Will they be on the water for profession or pleasure? Think of backup sunwear in case one pair is damaged or goes overboard.

Also recommend polarized lenses for waterside activities since reflective glare from water, sand, and other surfaces can cause performance distraction and visual discomfort.

Baby boomers and seniors benefit from polarized lenses

4. MEDICAL NECESSITY

Studies have shown that UV radiation can cause damage to the eyes and skin, including cataracts and macular degeneration. Glare can also be damaging to eyesight, causing fatigue from brightness and distraction.

In certain situations, glare can also be dangerous. A case in point is driving, where glare has been identified as causing traffic accidents and injuries. Polarized lenses greatly reduce glare for overall safety.

In addition to blocking glare, polarized lenses also block UV rays if the lenses are UV treated. It's important to note that polarization in of itself isn't UV protective.

Polarized lenses that feature melanin help protect against High Energy Visible (HEV) light, which scientists say may be just as damaging as UV to eyes and skin, and
help block blue light in addition to reducing glare.

Due to physical conditions, environmental conditions, prescription and/or over-the-counter drug use that increases photosensitivity, and natural aging, eyes can become more sensitized to the detrimental effects of sunlight and glare.

In these situations, polarized
lenses can increase contrast sensitivity, aid visual acuity adaptation from light to dark, and improve color contrast.

Specifically, polarized lenses are recommended for patients with sensitive and/or light-colored eyes, baby boomers and senior citizens, those with diabetes, those who spend extended hours in snow or sun, and vacationers or those who live close to the equator or high altitudes.

Polarization is also recommended for post-surgical patients, contact lens wearers, and outdoor workers.

Polarized lenses are especially recommended for those under age 18. The lenses in their eyes are clear and allow greater levels of UV and HEV light into the eye than adults.

Yesterday and Today

Experts say that polarized lens manufacturing and construction has retained the best of its past qualities while technologically advancing into a better, more durable product.

To make the lenses traditionally, a roll of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is unrolled, heated, and stretched. After the PVA is successfully stretched, it's immersed in a warm iodine dye solution to dye the polarizing film, followed by a boric acid solution. Following immersion, the PVA is sandwiched in sheets of cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB). The CAB is scratch-resistant coated prior to this process, and later is coated for abrasion-resistance, UV protection, and color. The laminated sheet advances to the cutting area, the necessary shape is die-cut, and then lenses are molded to their respective curves.

What's different about today's versus yesterday's polarized lenses is the large variety of lens materials and designs.

Several current manufacturing processes place the polarizing filter closer to the front surface than before. This allows the lenses to be ground to a low center thickness creating a thinner and light weight polarized product.

Some patented processes today fully encapsulate the polarized filter. Some cast the polarization into the lens. Other manufacturers have created non-traditional, proprietary lens materials that handle polarization particularly well while providing visual acuity, high impact, light weight, and durability.

Most of the credit for viable polarized product today goes to new coating capabilities. In the past, polarized lenses had a tendency to delaminate, usually along the edges. Today's new generation of ultra-strong coatings help polarized lenses achieve superior durability.