Achi news desk-
It hasn’t been long since a few lucky Earthlings witnessed this year’s total solar eclipse, but doctors, in areas that fell in the path of totality, have reported an increase in cases of eye-related injuries.
The number of people with eye-related injuries has jumped while one doctor in New York says she has treated a number of patients with eye pain, New York Post report.
“I’ve had several patients come in panicking and say, ‘I don’t want to go blind,'” says Dr. Janet Nishivat, a board-certified physician at the New York Couples Center. Fox News Digital. “I couldn’t believe it, people were actually looking at the eclipse without protection.”
Doctors and eye specialists have continuously advised people not to look directly at the sun during the eclipse without protective equipment such as eclipse glasses, as this can cause severe vision damage.
However, some did not heed the warning.
According to New York Post, Googling “sore eyes” and “why do my eyes hurt after the eclipse” came up after the moon and sun aligned on Monday.
Nesheiwat says the sun’s rays can burn the retina and damage the macula, the part of the retina at the back of the eye that is responsible for central vision.
According to a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Center for Health Statistics does not have any data on eye damage from the eclipse.
But Nesheiwat says she’s treated up to eight patients in midtown Manhattan, with one patient looking at the sun directly or through his phone for about 10 minutes, she says.
“The damage can be irreversible if the retina is severely damaged by looking directly at the eye without proper protection. Some people may have mild symptoms if the exposure to the sun was brief.”
Although the vast majority of people took precautions when viewing the eclipse, some people may have been using eclipse glasses that were recalled for being fake.
