Did You Stare At The Eclipse Without Protection? Your Eyes May Be Damaged And You Won’t Know For Days

how to know if you damaged eyes looking eclipse

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So were you one of the dummies who disregarded the hundreds of warnings over the past few weeks and just went ahead and looked at the solar eclipse without any eye protection?

Yes, I am talking to you…

Well, this news is not going to be great for you. Because if you did look at the solar eclipse without eye protection you may have fucked up your eyes and the worst part is you might not know it for days.

NBC Chicago and Dr. Linda Chous, chief eye care officer for UnitedHealthcare, shared these details today…

If you’ve looked at the eclipse without glasses, do you feel the adverse effects immediately or over time?
It is unsafe for anyone to look directly at the sun for any length of time or during an eclipse, as damage can occur within seconds of exposure. The sun is incredibly bright – some 400,000 times brighter than a full moon. Any amount of exposure can cause short-term and long-term damage.

If immediately, what are the signs?
Short-term issues can include solar keratitis, which is similar to sunburn of the cornea (the front part of the eye). This can cause eye pain and light sensitivity, with symptoms often occurring within 24 hours after exposure.

If over time, what are the things you should look for?
Long-term issues can include solar retinopathy, which is when the sun burns a hole in the retinal tissues, usually occurring at the fovea. This can cause loss of central vision, with symptoms occurring immediately to two weeks after exposure. Depending on the severity of the retinopathy, vision problems can last for months or be permanent.

How do you know if you might have damaged your retina/vision?
There are often no immediate signs of eye damage after viewing an eclipse without proper eye protection. Symptoms can occur immediately, within several hours or even weeks after exposure. Potential signs of damage include sensitivity to light, eye pain and loss of vision in one or both eyes.

So yeah, if you looked at the solar eclipse without proper eye protection you might not even realize you did some damage for anywhere from hours to weeks. Cool, huh?

Beats this I guess…

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Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. He is also one of the few White Sox fans out there and thinks Michael Jordan is, hands down, the GOAT.