5 Glasses Lens Coating Options To Help You See Better

Eyeglasses are not one-size-fits-all. Beyond the frames and glasses, there is a list of additional lens coatings to consider to better enhance one’s vision while simultaneously protecting one’s eyes and lenses. Each of these lens coatings has its own unique strength to cater to a specific need. If you are looking to make a sizeable investment in your eye health care, here are the 5 common lens coating options to consider.

1. Ultraviolet (UV) Protective Coatings

Sun protection is often discussed when it comes to the skin, but the same cannot be said for the eyes. Like the largest organ in the human body, the eyes can also be severely affected by the sun rays, specifically the ultraviolet (UV) rays. In fact, 80% of the damage to the eyes occurs before the age of 18. It is thus important to implement eye protection from an early age.

To best protect your eyes from sun damage, understanding how the sun affects your vision is crucial. There are two ways in which the sun can affect and exacerbate your vision:

1. Excessive amounts of UV radiation over a short period of time can lead to photokeratitis, a temporary but painful eye condition. Symptoms include red eyes, foreign body sensation or gritty feeling in the eyes, extreme light sensitivity, and excessive tearing.
2. Exposure to solar radiation translates to an increased risk of developing cataracts, eye cancer, pterygium (surfer’s eye) and macular degeneration.

Proper eye protection includes safeguarding your eyes from UV rays by way of glasses that offer 100% UV protection from UV-A and UV-B light.

2. Blue Light Filteration Coating

In the age where digital technology is highly ingrained in our way of living, blue light is not something that we can avoid. Blue light refers to one of the light rays on the visible light spectrum with a short wavelength and high energy. Its nature makes it hard for our eyes to focus, and as we spend hours staring at our digital screens, our eyes have a challenging time focusing due to the poorly-focused visual “noise”. With long exposure, it eventually leads to digital eye strain and age-related macular degeneration.

Blue light glasses protect the eyes from these high-energy blue wavelengths by blocking the transmission of a range of wavelengths emitted by digital devices. Not only does this reduce potential eye damage from prolonged exposure, but it also increases contrast on your screen, which makes it easier to focus and subsequently reducing eye strain.

3. Anti-Reflective Coating (AR Coating)

Anti-reflective coating, also known as anti-glare coating, works to enhance the clarity of your vision by virtually eliminating all reflections from the front and back surfaces of the glass lenses. This helps to reduce glare and eliminate reflections and halos around light. Without these reflections and halos, more light can pass through the lenses, which further optimises your vision while mitigating eye strain. In addition, AR coating also reduces both internal and external reflections, creating a thinner appearance.

4. Scratch-Resistant Coating

Unfortunately, all lenses are susceptible to scratches and other blemishes with prolonged wear. When they are scratched, they become less clear as a result. This will strain your eyes even more, causing eye fatigue. Equipping your lenses with scratch-resistant coating adds an extra layer of protection, which allows the lenses to better withstand normal wear and tear. However, this is not the best way to protect your glasses. Be sure to also store your glasses in a cushioned case and clean the lenses with an optician-recommended cleaning solution and a microfibre cloth.

5. Anti-Bacterial Coating

Spectacles are high-touch items that can potentially house harmful microbes that may have an adverse effect on your overall health. Especially with the heightened awareness of viruses and bacteria in part of COVID-19, reducing exposure to these harmful microbes is imperative. To help with this, the anti-bacterial coating works to prevent the proliferation of surface bacteria, which are proven to reduce bacteria growth by at least 99.9%.

Finding the Ideal Glasses at EMME Visioncare

Choosing the right glass lenses is one of the most important approaches to safeguarding your eye health and vision. Consider an all-around protection for your eyes with the Crizal lenses - lenses that protect against scratches, dust, glare, water and contribute to preventing the harmful effects of UV and Blue-Violet light. Conversely, you can also head down to EMME Visioncare and our team of expert optometrists and opticians to find the right pair of glasses and, by extension, lens coating.

Reach out to EMME Visioncare to learn more.