![]() But if you do sneak a sidelong look, it probably won’t be the last thing you see. In short, you probably shouldn’t look at the sun at all during the eclipse without special glasses (you can also make a quick DIY pinhole camera for safe viewing). Solar retinopathy, damage to the eye’s retina due to solar radiation, and blindness to varying degrees and persistence frequently result from sungazing during a solar eclipse. In most, but not all cases, the symptoms eventually dissipated, leading the researchers to conclude: “Contrary to popular belief, the majority of people with eclipse retinopathy are not totally blinded.” That said, you can find plenty of credible anecdotes of people who have suffered serious, long-term eye damage from extended solar viewing, and other academic studies bear that out. Looking directly at the sun for even brief periods of time may cause blindness or severe damage to the eye. Although the sun also emits UV-C radiation, those rays are absorbed by the ozone layer and don’t damage your eyes. In particular, UV-A and UV-B rays from the sun can cause short- and long-term damage to your eyes and affect your vision. “Longer viewing periods were associated with worse symptoms, and with fundal changes,” the researchers reported. Your eyes can be damaged from ultraviolet rays. Those with visible damage each reported having looked at the eclipse for 18 seconds or more. Of those, 20 reported that their vision was affected, although just five had visible damage to their retinas. ![]() This type of eye damage is typically what people experience after viewing the sun or an eclipse for a duration without proper eye protection. Staring directly at the sun can cause a very serious eye condition called solar retinopathy. hospital after viewing the 1999 solar eclipse. This weeks blog article, breaks down the different types of eye related sun damage. Looking at the sun through binoculars or a telescope will fry your eyes in no time and the damage is usually irreparable. Particularly instructive is a 2001 study published in The Lancet that reviewed the symptoms of 45 patients who reported to an eye center at a Leicester, U.K. But they loosely accord with studies that have found people who stare at the sun longer are more likely to incur permanent damage. Five seconds, I’m not sure, but 10 seconds is probably too long and 20 seconds is definitely too long.Ĭhung doesn’t say exactly how he arrived at these figures. In many cases, the damage is permanent.If you look at it for a second or two, nothing will happen. So even if your vision improves, it’ll take a year or so. It can even cause blindness, called solar. The body is excellent at healing cuts and scrapes because skin regenerates so frequently, but the nervous system isn’t quite so adept at rejuvenating cells. Staring at the sun for even a short time without wearing the right eye protection can damage your retina permanently. Sometimes the damage does healīut if you’ve really done a number on your photoreceptors, they’re not likely to heal completely. If it’s really serious, they’ll send you along to a specialist for more testing. They’ll be able to look through your pupil to your retina and assess the situation. After viewing a solar eclipse, seek treatment from an eye care professional if you or. There’s not much you can do at this point but go see an optometrist (an ophthalmologist is better, but they’re harder to get in to see). Looking directly at the sun can cause permanent damage to your eyes. People who burn their retinas may experience patchy. ![]() ![]() If you woke up this morning with blurry vision or a bright spot in one or both eyes, that’s a good sign you’ve done some damage. By staring into the sun, the strong rays burn those nerves in your eyes, and nerve damage is irreversible. In other words, in the middle of the night. The peak searches for “my eyes hurt” occurred at 2:56pm ET, which was shortly after the eclipse peaked on the East Coast Google Trends (screencap by author) The real signs of damage show up about 12 hours later ![]()
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