Why Wear Sunglasses?

I have thought recently about sunglasses and why I wear them. I have not always been good about wearing sunglasses, but recently I have become much better about it. I think there are different reasons why people choose to wear sunglasses.

1. Because they are a fashion accessory - These are the people that have multiple pair for different outfits or those people that even wear them indoors. This is definitely not why I wear sunglasses, although it is not a bad reason. I actually feel self conscious when I am wearing them and don't like any attention they bring to me. I'm one that just likes to blend into the crowd, so for a long time I didn't wear sunglasses mostly because I felt like everyone was looking at me and thinking I looked strange.
2. Because the sun is too bright - Some people are really light sensitive and are very uncomfortable with bright lights. Sunglasses provide immediate relief and are even necessary for some people to function at a high level. I am not light sensitive (which I why I was such a good practice patient in optometry school), so I don't get much relief by putting on sunglasses. I have realized that I am a squinter - anytime I'm out in the sun I am squinting my eyes halfway shut, which is why I have deep wrinkles between my eye brows.
3. Because of the UV protection - I didn't think too much about this reason until optometry school. I know that it is good to wear sunscreen to protect your skin from the harmful ultraviolet radiation the sun emits. I guess I could have figured out this same radiation could harm your eyes too, even if you don't stare directly at the sun, but I didn't think about it too much. Now I understand that UV rays can cause pingueculae, ptyerigia, cataracts, and damage to the retina (if you do stare at the sun). I decided that I should protect my eyes by wearing sunglasses that have UV protection.

I still feel uncomfortable and a little embarrassed when I wear sunglasses, and I still don't mind bright lights in my eyes, but I have made a decision to wear sunglasses as much as I can to protect my eyes.

How about you, what is your main reason for wearing sunglasses?

For more information about sunglasses, you can visit http://www.allaboutvision.com/sunglasses/

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Off on a little bit of a tangent, two days after that I took the above picture of myself in sunglasses, my car suffered a break down in New Mexico. The car, lovingly referred to as "Forrest", served me well for 6 years before giving up the ghost while I was moving from Memphis to Phoenix. I had to leave Forrest in the small village of San Jon, NM, increasing the population to 307. I finished my journey by rental car and was never to see Forrest again. I'll always remember Forrest, who moved me from California to Utah back to California then to Mississippi; was with me when I got engaged and married, graduated college; and brought home my first child from the hospital. Forrest could never be replaced, although "Champ" does a pretty good job now of getting me from place to place. Thanks Forrest for serving me well for so many good years!