You can almost set your clock to it. Right after Wednesday’s solar eclipse, online searches about hurting eyes and possible eye damage shot up, just as they did after past eclipses. Every time an eclipse passes over, plenty of people ignore the warnings and sneak a peek at the sun without proper protection, then panic and rush to search engines asking things like “why do my eyes hurt” or “why can’t I see.” Starting at the time of the eclipse in Europe, searches for those types of terms went up over 5,000-percent this time around.
Eye doctors say the worry is valid, since looking at the sun without special eclipse glasses can burn the retina, a condition called solar retinopathy. The tricky part is that this kind of damage often causes no pain at all, so symptoms like blurry vision, blind spots, or trouble seeing colors may not show up until hours or even a day later. There is no proven treatment, so anyone noticing vision changes should see an eye doctor. Long-term damage is rare, but real.
Source: Metro
