Protect Your Eyes: Why You Should Never Watch a Solar Eclipse Without Special Lenses

2024-04-09 06:10:40

The total solar eclipse this Monday, April 8, is the most anticipated and talked about astronomical event in the United States, Mexico and other countries. You will be able to witness how the Moon will be in the middle of the Sun and the Earth, for a few minutes, a phenomenon that citizens want to see with their own eyes. However, even for a few seconds, those who see the eclipse directly, with or without special lenses, will damage their vision temporarily or permanently.

According to NASA, it is not common for a total solar eclipse to happen and, therefore, it is more than special in the scientific community. “On that journey, the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s light for a few minutes. “It gets so dark it seems like night during a full moon!” she notes on his website.

This rare condition also draws the attention of citizens, who even prepare some personal or collective rituals in order to witness the total solar eclipse. What they don’t know is that they can expose themselves and their family’s eyesight if they don’t take the necessary measures.

“A very small dose (of solar ultraviolet or infrared radiation) could cause harm to some people,” Dr. Yehia Hashad, a retinal ophthalmologist, told CBS News. There are cases of patients who have part or all of the crescent shadow in their eyes as part of the eye damage after seeing a solar eclipse.

WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO ME IF I LOOK AT THE SOLAR ECLIPSE WITHOUT SPECIAL LENSES?

If you watch a total solar eclipse without glasses recommended by NASA, with the international safety standard ISO 12312-2, you will damage your eyes temporarily or permanently. This will happen even if you watch the astronomical event for a few seconds. Even if you wear special glasses, you still run the risk of eye problems.

Therefore, what specialists recommend is to indirectly witness the eclipse, with adequate protection, and thus avoid the well-known solar retinopathy, which has no treatment. If you have damage, all you have to do is wait for your eyesight to improve or live with the respective consequences.

“If someone briefly looks at the eclipse, if it is extremely brief, in some cases there will be no damage. But damage can occur even in a fraction of a second in some cases,” Dr. Jason P. Brinton told CBS.

He added that he had a patient who, in 2017, saw a solar eclipse for 20 seconds, without protection, and now has a black crescent on the retina, a permanent interference with vision. That figure will not disappear from his vision.

Special glasses to be able to face the total solar eclipse (Photo: AFP)

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SOLAR RETINOPATHY?

Solar retinopathy is an eye condition caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. According to research registered by the Madrid Ophthalmological Society, these are the symptoms of solar retinopathy:

• Decreased visual acuity
• Headaches
• Changes in seeing color (dyschromatopsias) and objects (metamorphopsias and micropsias)
• Blind spots (scotomas)

It is important to note that these symptoms can vary in severity and can manifest temporarily or permanently, depending on the intensity and duration of sun exposure.

Several citizens take the day to witness the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8 (Photo: AFP)

WHAT DO SPECIALISTS RECOMMEND?

With or without glasses, the main recommendation is not to look directly at a total solar eclipse, just as it is not recommended to look directly at the sun under any circumstances. NASA also does not recommend viewing the total solar eclipse through camera lenses, binoculars, a telescope, or even your cell phone.

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