![]() This article will provide an overview of the effects of staring at the sun, the risks of doing so, and the best ways to protect your eyes from the sun’s glare. ![]() Given the amount of time we spend outdoors, it is important to understand exactly how long looking at the sun can cause retinal damage. So based on a sample of two people I have met I would say the answer is absolutely yes, provided you do it for long enough.Our eyes are incredibly sensitive, and prolonged exposure to the sun can cause serious damage. He had, however, been assessed by an opthamologist at the hospital and diagnosed with some sort of vision loss as a result - can't remember the details. I saw him shortly after he had been admitted as an involuntary psych patient and whilst he still had some odd beliefs about the sun, this sort of behaviour had receded. He would stand facing the sun with his arms outstretched and stare at the sun for about an hour each morning. I've also met a psychiatric patient who had delusions about the sun giving him some sort of power. Interesting guy - remarkably phlegmatic about his loss of vision. He can detect gross things like light and dark, but is unable to see any sort of detail. I can't tell you how many hours' cumulative exposure he had, but he's now 30 and legally blind. He imagined he could see some kind of pattern or image in the sun and would obsessively seek it out. He described having stared at the sun for long periods of time as a kid. I don't know if this is the answer you're looking for, but earlier this year, I met a guy who was now blind after having stared obsessively at the sun as a child. However, the persistence of visual symptoms in those with mild burns would suggest that even brief glimpses of a solar eclipse should be avoided. Visual acuity can improve considerably in the majority of eclipse-related solar burns. Persistence of foveal hypopigmentation at 3 months in cases 5 and 14 may have been predictive of worse long-term visual acuity 6/6 visual acuity was attained in cases 4, 14 and 15 despite initial visual acuities of 6/36, 6/24 and 6/18 respectively. Our study concurs that patients can make an excellent recovery in the first 3 months following a solar retinal injury. They found a similar good prognosis for visual acuity and only a small proportion with longstanding metamorphopsia (11 eyes of 319 patients). Rai et al describe 3-year follow-up of 319 solar retinopathy patients, 126 of whom had observed a solar eclipse. Visual acuity does not always recover and has reportedly remained as low as 3/60 with permanent retinal damage in the form of retinal holes and pseudoholes. After 6 months the visual acuity is usually in the range of 6/5 to 6/12 but frequently with a small central subjective scotoma. Victims of solar retinopathy may complain of blurred vision, a central black spot and metamorphopsia. ![]() In case you don't have access, here's the key discussion:Įclipse retinopathy is the commonest cause of solar retinopathy. Were you able to access that article I linked about solar retinopathy after the 1999 solar eclipse in East Sussex? I'm asking for proof that staring at the sun burns your eyes. I'm not asking about long term exposure to solar radiation. Posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:21 AM on J That second quote is about someone who looked at a solar eclipse, so is a) not from long-term damage, and b) not even the full strength of the sun. Several crescent-shaped burns can be seen in the central retina, and these have resulted in blindness in this eye, with his vision reduced to below 20/400 (6/120). This picture shows a more extreme form of solar retinopathy in the left eye of a young man who stared unprotected at a partial eclipse of the sun. We describe 2 cases of solar retinopathy, 1 of which remained with permanent loss of vision.Īlso, from this BBC report on solar eclipses: Anatomic damage to the retina, even in those who regain full vision, is permanent. Although functional ability in solar retinopathy is usually regained within weeks, some suffer long-term visual impairment. Retinal damage caused by direct exposure to the sun's rays is well recognized by the ophthalmic community. Proof that staring at the sun burns your eyes. ![]()
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