May 27, 2011 
Are sunglasses with prescription a good idea?
Sometimes you can find yourselves in a situation while you’re driving and the sun is shining straight into your eyes, and you cannot put on your sunglasses because you need prescription glasses for vision to be able to see the road. In such cases, prescription sunglasses are the right choice for you.
Sunglasses with prescription lenses can also sometimes be a convenient choice for activities outside the home and for users of contact lenses. For example, you might not want to wear contact lenses on the beach, because the influence of the sun, wind and water often cause eye irritation.
Also, it’s not a good idea to have contact lenses while swimming because there is a possibility of a potentially dangerous eye infection, caused by microorganisms in the water. But prescription sunglasses can be worn always carefree and you don’t have to worry about contact lenses.
What are the advantages of having prescription sunglasses?
If you need aids for correcting your vision, you have several options when it comes to sunglasses. The sunglasses can have almost all types of prescription lenses build in, including bifocals and progressive lenses. Sunglasses with such prescription lenses will serve you well if you are a presbyopic and need vision correction to read a book or magazine while sitting for example somewhere in the open.
Prescription lenses can be incorporated into most of sunglasses
Almost all the famous designer sunglasses have the option of mounting prescription lenses. The only limitation exists in some sunglasses that have too much curvature, which follows the physiognomy of the face. Prescription sunglasses with a large curvature can sometimes distort the field. However, several manufacturers offer prescription lenses with large curvature, which provide an excellent picture. They are usually available with a limited dioptric strength, so consult with your optician.
Unlimited choice of prescription lenses
Prescription lenses for sunglasses are available in all materials, including those with a high refractive index, polycarbonate lenses, ordinary plastic and glass. Although glass lenses theoretically provide the best optical quality, there are no longer the most popular choice for sunglasses. The reason is that they are much heavier than lenses made of other materials, and can easily break. However, if you want them, they are still available.
UV protection and protection from glare
As with sunglasses without vision correction, your main concern with buying prescription sunglasses is lenses that block 100 percent of the sun’s harmful UV rays. UV protection is not associated with the color or density of shade of the sunglasses lenses, so you can choose any color and degree of lens opacities, as long as your optician can confirm that these lenses provide 100 percent UV protection. There are also polarized prescription sunglasses for protection from glare caused by reflection from reflective surfaces (such as water, snow, sand, and asphalt).
Taken from: www.optometrija.net