Are your sunglasses protecting your eyes from the summer sun? Expert shares eye-opening information

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- With the hot summer sun upon us, now is the time to assess how safe our sunglasses are.

Expensive doesn't always mean better. And What about a darker tint? Experts say cost and color are not the things that matter most. And if you're going to be spending time at the beach or pool this summer, optometrists remind us that eyes can burn as easily as your skin.

If your eyes start bothering you after a hot, sunny day at the beach or the pool, chances are it's not what you think.

"The first thing that they say is, I think I got some sand in my eyes," said Dr. Talin Amadian with Woodley Optometry.

She said it feels sandy because photokeratitis is when the sun causes dry itchy spots on the cornea.

"They can't open their eyes because it's hurting so bad. It's just like a sunburn in the eye," she said.

It's treated with prescription drops. But you can avoid burning your eyes by wearing sunglasses that meet the proper criteria.

"The more wrapped they are, the better coverage you get. And let's not forget the skin around the eyes. That's also very delicate," said Amadian.

Make sure the lenses say 100% UV protection or UV 400. And the darker the better, right? Actually, Amadian says no.

"If you want to go with the light lens again, just make sure that you have that UV coverage, and then you can go as light as you would like to go," she said.

Don't risk your vision by settling for low quality lenses.

Try this test - look for something with straight lines. Hold the glasses in front of you and cover one eye.

"If you see any distortion to that line, that means that the lenses are distorted. They're going to contribute to distortion and you should not be wearing that," Amadian said.

And what about polarized lenses that protect against glare? One downside is that it makes it harder to see your phone or a digital dashboard. But does it offer additional safeguards?

"It's not an additional protection. However, it is going to contribute to comfort," she said.

Just like your skin, your eyes can develop skin tags from cumulative UV exposure. Other dangers are cataracts and macular degeneration. So it's never too early to start teaching your kids good ocular hygiene.

"Just get into that habit, even from infancy. It's a really good time to start setting the tone," Amadian said.

Dr. Amadian says just like you have different shoes, you should have sunglasses for different occasions - wrap arounds if you're going to be exercising and big framed ones for weekend events.

The more coverage the better and remember it's all about 100% UV protection, the rest is just preference.