Our top 5 family eyecare essentials when packing for summer holidays

Summer is finally here! With warm weather, abundant sunshine, and the exciting prospect of holidays, our mood can’t help but soar. But amidst all the vacation preparations, it’s easy to overlook the little things, like ensuring proper eye protection. From shielding against harmful UV rays to avoiding common eye infections or forgetting contact lenses, being well-prepared is crucial before setting off on your adventure.

To help you stay safe and enjoy this summer to the fullest, we’ve gathered our top 5 eye care tips. Let’s dive in!

1. Go prepared

If you haven’t had an eye examination in a while we encourage you to book in for an eye test so you’re completely ready for summer with the most up-to-date prescription and clear vision. If you wear contact lenses, it’s best to get stocked up before you go away, ensuring you have plenty of lenses for the duration of your trip with some spares. When travelling you might also find it easier to wear daily disposable lenses, which are more convenient, as cleaning and storing properly can be tricky.

Sunglasses are another essential item for the whole family, providing UV protection for your eyes. The best sunglasses for UV protection are those with oversized lenses, or a wraparound design to cover the eye and delicate skin around it. After your eye exam, you can browse our practice to find the perfect sunglasses to take away with you.

2. Transition lenses

Transition lenses are glasses and sunglasses rolled into one. As you move between lighter and darker conditions, they adapt to the light. With just a single pair of glasses, you don’t need to continually swap between two and you’ll never be without adequate UV protection.

Here at Donovan Smith, we aim to provide professional family eyecare, which is why we partner with ZEISS. We believe ZEISS’ self-tinting, photochromic lenses are the most innovative and best sunglasses for UV protection – catering to children too.

3. Scratched lenses

Keeping your sunglasses scratch-free is important. Any scratches on your lenses, even those that are invisible to the naked eye, can allow UV rays to penetrate and cause damage to your eyes. Making sure they are kept clean with a suitable cloth and storing them in their case can extend their life and keep you protected. If your current sunglasses are scratched, don’t risk it, pop in our practice before your travels to browse our wide collection. Remember, if they’re not on your face, pop them in the case.

4. Allergy medication

Many of us are prone to allergies in the summertime and this can cause varying levels of discomfort. If you’ve found some anti-allergy medication that works, don’t forget to pack it along with your essentials, as pollen counts and plants where you are travelling to might differ from your local area and it would be a shame to be caught without. Eyedrops are also a great way to relieve allergy symptoms and rehydrate eyes. Whilst you are on travelling abroad, the weather conditions can become dry and humid and this can effect your eyes, using eyedrops will relieve all feeling of dry eyes great to relieve this, so you enjoy your summer with no discomfort. We recommend purchasing your eyedrops before you go away to ensure they are suitable for your needs and compatible with contact lenses, if you wear them.

5. Goggles

What’s summer without a dip in the sea, a lake or a swimming pool? Swimming goggles are a holiday essential, not only will it help you see a little clearer when you’re enjoying your water activities but they also protect your eyes from chlorine and bacteria that may cause infection.

We’d recommend getting a pair of well-fitting goggles to keep your eyes protected and investing in some prescription goggles if you require vision correction. Remember that contact lenses and water don’t mix well so avoid wearing your contact lenses in or around water.

Book an eye test

Why not get your summer holiday off to the best start by looking after your eye health. Book an eye test at your friendly Brighouse opticians before you go away and ensure your vision is as clear as it can be.