eye health

Sunglasses aren't just for complementing your bikini while you lounge on the beach. They're a must for protecting your eyes from UV damage. Sunglasses also shield the eyelids and the skin around your eyes, helping to prevent wrinkles and skin cancer. But before you run out and drop a small fortune on a pair, here are some things to consider.

• UV protection is most important: UV rays can damage the eyes causing cataracts, benign growths on the eye's surface, and snow blindness, a temporary and painful sunburn of the eye. As mentioned above, it can also lead to skin cancer around the eye, so make sure your pair guarantees 100 percent UV protection.
• Polarized lenses have nothing to do with UV protection: Polarized lenses act as a filter to absorb light waves, which helps to reduce glare that bounces off smooth surfaces like pavement or water. While they're great for offering clearer vision in extreme sun, being labeled "polarized" has nothing to do with how well they protect the eyes.

Keep reading to find out what else to think about when buying sunglasses.

Have you ever woken up with your eyes feeling heavy and are shocked to discover they're twice their normal size? Allergies, too much salt or alcohol, lack of sleep, crying, and even makeup can attribute to swollen, puffy, and red eyes. While it may take hours or even a few days for them to return back to normal, take these 10 steps to help shrink the swell. Remember, even though it's tempting, don't rub your eyes! It will only make the irritation and redness worse.

1. Don't underestimate water. Splash your face with cold water as you wake up to help calm puffiness, then drink a few glasses to hydrate yourself.
2. Remove any and all eye makeup using cotton swabs and eye makeup remover. Makeup caught in the tear ducts and waterlines will continue to cause inflammation and potentially infection unless you remove it.
3. Dip a cold rag or cotton balls into an ice bath. Apply to the face for five-10 minutes.
4. If you can think ahead, keep an ice pack or gel face mask in the freezer. Place on your eyes for 10 minutes.
5. Chilled chamomile, mint, ginseng, or black teabags sooth and tighten up the skin around the eyes. Set them over the eyes until the teabags are at room temperature.

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I wore bright magenta glasses from fourth grade until my 13th birthday when my dad took me to get my first pair of contact lenses. It felt so liberating not to have anything on my face and to still be able to see. I quickly realized that there's a lot of extra care that comes with being a contact lens wearer. Now that Summer has arrived, here are some helpful tips to keep your eyes protected and happy.

• Choose sunscreen wisely. It's a no-brainer for contact lens wearers to use waterproof sunscreen on their faces so when they sweat or swim, it doesn't drip into their eyes (youch!). But make sure the sunscreen you slather on the rest of your body is waterproof as well, so when you accidentally touch your face or wipe the sweat off your forehead with your arm, you won't risk that painful sting.
• Wear UV protecting sunglasses. They not only protect your eyes from damaging rays, but sunglasses also prevent debris from blowing into your eyes. I also found wearing sunglasses prevents dry eyes caused by warm wind.
• Invest in some UV blocking contacts. I didn't even know they made these until I looked on my box of Acuvue Oasys contacts. Look for ones that say Class 1. This is the highest protection available in contacts and it means they block up to 96 percent of UVA and 100 percent of UVB rays.

For more must-know tips, keep reading.

Many of us spend all day sitting at an office desk, and we know how unhealthy that can potentially be. If you find yourself forgetting to do those important desk exercises or even getting out of your office chair altogether, you'll want to check out the Time Out download from the Mac App Store.

Time Out is a free app for your Mac computer that fades out your screen after a specified interval so you can stretch, rest your eyes, or grab a glass of water. Time Out offers two types of breaks: a micro break to remind you to quickly combat tension and a normal break so you can relax and get moving. The time limits come preset at every 10 minutes for a 15-second micro break and every 50 minutes for a normal 10-minute break. If you find these are too intrusive, too frequent, or not long enough, changing preferences, from opacity and color of the screen lockout to length and frequency of breaks, is simple to do.

Find out what I thought about the app and if it helped me during my daily office grind after the break.

You work out every day and have a dental hygiene routine that would make any DDS proud, but are you proactive about your eye health? Since a lot of us spend countless hours a week on sitting at desks and staring into computers, maintaining a healthy eye routine is essential. From the glare of the monitor to the dry office air, it seems that our workhorse eyeballs never get any respect. So with all the abuse they take, why not be proactive to make sure you keep your eyes healthy? Learn important tips to babying those baby blues (or browns, or greens) after the break.

We're finally enjoying some warm, sunny weather here in San Francisco, but even when it's not Summer or incredibly sunny, sunglasses are a must-have accessory for your health. Here are five reasons you should absolutely wear sunglasses.

1. Avoiding sunburn. It is possible to sunburn your eyes, resulting in redness, irritation, and a gritty feeling similar to sand in the eyes. Ouch!
2. Maintaining long-term eye health. Overexposure to UV rays can lead to cataracts and glaucoma. Choose sunglasses that screen out 75 to 90 percent of light and block at least 95 percent of UVA and 99 percent UVB radiation. Wearing a hat doesn't hurt either.

For three more reasons to get shady, read more