Eye damage reported after eclipse
The Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO) says more than 115 cases of eye damage have been reported across the province after the solar eclipse this month.
Google searches for “my eyes hurt” and “why do my eyes hurt” spiked in the U.S. and Canada in the aftermath of the April 8 eclipse.
In an email to the Star, the OAO said there have been 118 reported cases of eye complications related to the event. Some parts of Ontario, such as Hamilton and Niagara Falls, fell in the eclipse’s path of totality.
The OAO said the two conditions that many are experiencing are inflammation of the cornea and solar retinopathy.
Inflammation of the cornea typically heals over a few days, the OAO said, but there is a risk of permanent vision loss when it comes to solar retinopathy, as there are varying degrees.
“The severity of cases depends on which part of the retina is affected and how long the patient stared at the sun,” the OAO said.
The cases were not concentrated in any one area of the province, ranging from Windsor to Ottawa.
“Many regions had significant cloud cover during the eclipse and it seems as though most people heeded warnings and used proper eye protection when looking at the eclipse,” the OAO told the Star. “We believe that both of these factors limited the number of cases of eye complications, given that most of Ontario experienced some level of solar eclipse.”
Dr. Lawrence Weisbrod, chief of ophthalmology at Toronto’s Michael Garron Hospital, said the eye works much like a magnifying glass, focusing incoming light onto a patch of sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina called the macula.
Just like how focused sunlight through a magnifying glass can become hot enough to burn paper, so can this focused UV light overpower and scorch our retinas, potentially damaging them permanently. This is true even during an eclipse, despite the dimmed sunlight.
Because we don’t have pain receptors on our retinas, we often don’t feel the injury to our eyes while it’s occurring — leading many to not realize what had happened until hours or even days later.
When looking at the sun normally, the intense brightness causes pain and may lead us to look away, Dr. Philip Hooper, president of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, told The Canadian Press. But during an eclipse, the light is dimmed and we don’t feel as much pain, despite the “significant light energy that’s coming from the sun.”
Many regions had significant cloud cover during the eclipse and it seems as though most people heeded warnings and used proper eye protection.
ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF OPTOMETRISTS