It’s now mid August and although the rain might make it feel otherwise, it’s the height of the summer for us Brits. With the sun comes harmful UV rays, which means a risk to our skin and eyes. Because of this we need to know how to properly protect ourselves and our loved ones.

The first thing you should do is get yourself a decent pair of sunglasses with UV protection (preferably 100%). Most sunglasses from top designers will offer 100% UV protection as a standard feature, but there’s no harm checking with your optician if you’re unsure. You should do your best to wear your sunglasses everytime you go out, even if it seems cloudy (as UV rays can still cause damage to your eyes, even on a cloudy day).

If you’re a glasses wearer and you have prescription lenses, you should look at getting prescription sunglasses, meaning your sunglasses will improve your vision and reduce eye strain at the same time as protecting your eyes from UV rays. This should prevent you from having to strain and should help you to keep your eyes healthy throughout the summer months.

You might also want to consider having a look at photochromatic and polarised lenses. The former of the two react to UV light, increasing the amount of protection to your eyes by darkening the lense dependant on the amount of UV light present. This makes them perfect for any light condition and an excellent choice for glasses for driving, as they allow you to always see the road clearly. Polarised lenses are specially designed to lessen the amount of glare suffered by the wearer from wet or particularly reflective surfaces. This makes them ideal for driving and sport and you’ll find that all the top sporting brands such as Oakley sunglasses will offer this type of lens.