India: cheap fakes harm eyes

In an article published today, The Telegraph India recommends people to 'be careful' because most of the sunglasses sold in city stores are replicas and do not offer protection against ultraviolet radiation, which may cause cataract, macular degeneration and even skin cancer around the eyes.

Counterfeit sunglasses are generally priced between Rs 100 and Rs 1,000 and are a big hit among college students. 'Most people wear shades to look good. They buy more than a pair to match with their clothes. What they do not realise is that their eyes are affected in the process', said physician Tapas Nag to the journal. 'A host of problems are caused by the use of inferior-quality sunglasses. Most patients see their doctor with severe headache as the initial symptom', he added.

Doctors said that a simple way of determining the quality of a sunglass is to check for image distortion. Good-quality glasses do not distort images. Also, sunglasses should ideally be scratch resistant and provide total protection from ultraviolet rays.

Optometrist Vipin Buckshey said: 'Almost all international sunglass brands are available in India. Customers should buy from reputed outlets and insist on a proper bill, receipt and guarantee card'.