Almost Half of Americans Don't See the Dangers of UV

Many of your patients and potential patients don't know that prolonged exposure to UV will damage their eyes, says The Vision Council's 2014 Sun Protection Survey. After interviewing more than 10,000 adults in 10 cities, the council found the following:

• 46 percent of adults only wear sunglasses when it's sunny.
• 35 percent of sunglass wearers did not know if their sunglasses provided UV protection.
• 49 percent of Americans didn't know that prolonged UV exposure can accelerate cataract growth.

American cities with a high risk of UV damage include obvious locations such as San Juan, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami, but there are also less obvious cities such as Cheyenne, Little Rock, and Oklahoma City. You could offer your patients an opportunity to learn by posting the Vision Council's web address on your Facebook or store website or you could tweet them. For more information on the methodology, click here.