A total eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime event to see.
But the intensity of the sun makes it important to exercise care in how you view the eclipse.
Dr. Karen Saland, an ophthalmologist with Texas Health Dallas, explains to KERA’s Sam Baker.
During the total eclipse, when it's obviously just completely dark, there's no light to damage the eye. It's those couple of seconds preceding and just after the total eclipse that the light starts to show again. And for those couple of seconds, those are the riskiest moments in causing damage to the eyes.
What kind of damage can the exposure cause to the eye?
The back of the eye - the actual inside of the eyeball - is lined by the retina, and the part of the retina that's responsible for our central vision is called the macula. And even central to that is the fovea.
It's that part of the eye which gets damaged from the intense light of the sun. And it can cause what we call solar retinopathy.
In simple terms, you can think of it as burning the back of the eye, but it's really more damage to the cells that are back there. And it's the intense light producing a chemical reaction which then causes this solar retinopathy.
Is this damage irreparable?
There's no known treatment. We can assume that the damage is permanent and irreversible.
Who's at the highest risk for injury?
First of all, children, because they might not wear the glasses, right? They might peak around it.
Also, older people have cataracts and the cataract in the eye helps protect the back of the eye. It's like a kind of an extra layer of protection.
But young people have a clear lens in the eye that eliminates that extra protection, so young people are more at risk.
There's also a medication called the tetracycline family of antibiotics, which includes doxycycline, which is a pretty normal antibiotic that people take for infection. It’s also commonly used with teenagers who have acne.
People who take those antibiotics are at higher risk because they're at a higher level of light sensitivity.
In addition, people who are either incapacitated from alcohol or drugs or mental impairment for a variety of reasons, psychiatric disease, people who it's harder to communicate with about not looking at the sun. Those people are also at higher risk.
What type of glasses should you wear for the eclipse?
There are certain glasses that you can see have letters and a number on it. It's:
ISO 123122
And sometimes you'll see extra numbers after that. But it's the ISO 123122.
And you will hope that those are glasses that were made with this filter that is much, much darker than a regular filter that blocks regular UV light like normal sunglasses would have.
These glasses are readily available. You can Google and find them on Amazon and in grocery stores. The biggest issue is that there are fake ones out there.
How else to be sure your glasses aren't fake?
Fortunately, though, there is a website that has thoroughly researched each one of the companies making these glasses.
So, if you're looking for glasses, I would suggest you go to:
Eclipse.aas.org.
The AAS is the American Astronomy Society. There is a list of all the manufacturers that make eclipse glasses. And it's a pretty long list. So, it's not that it's difficult to find these glasses. It's just if you're going to buy the glasses, make sure it's on that list.
RESOURCES:
2024 Total Eclipse: Where & When
How Do Solar Eclipse Glasses Work?
Solar Eclipses Eye Safety: Protect Your Eyes from the Sun!
