Sunglasses and Macular Degeneration

Research indicates that too much exposure to sunlight can cause or accelerate the progress of age related macular degeneration. This means that patients who already have AMD, or who are at risk, should wear sunglasses in bright light, especially sunglasses with UV and blue light filtering abilities. Patients already wearing glasses may want to consider either purchasing a UV filtering clip-on, or a separate pair of UV protected sunglasses. Because UV damage is cumulative over one's lifetime, children should be encouraged to wear UV protective sunglasses beginning at infancy whenever they are out in the sun.