Despite warnings not to look directly at the sun without special glasses, searches for the phrase “my eyes hurt” surged significantly following the phenomenon.
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Experts have been alarmed by a rise in Google searches for eye pain after the solar eclipse, as thousands of people appear to have viewed the sun without proper protection.
According to the Mirror, despite warnings not to look directly at the sun without special glasses, searches for the phrase “my eyes hurt” increased significantly after the phenomenon, with doctors warning that even a few seconds of exposure can damage the retina.
In Britain, searches for the term rose by 1,500% on Thursday evening compared with the previous day, while in Spain, where the eclipse was total and the sky darkened for several minutes, the corresponding Spanish phrase, “me duelen los ojos,” increased by 5,000%.
After the eclipse, several social media users reported eye pain, headaches and blurred vision, admitting that they had looked directly at the sun.
“I literally looked at it for one second, and now my eyes hurt,” one user wrote.
Another reported having a headache after watching the eclipse, while someone else wrote: “I looked directly at the solar eclipse, and I genuinely feel as though I have suffered eye damage. My head hurts badly, and my vision is blurred.”
In a similar TikTok post, one user said: “I looked at it. My eyes are dying. It’s a sensation I’ve never experienced before, and I think I’m going blind.”
Experts warn that looking directly at the sun can cause what is known as solar retinopathy.
Alex Ionides, an ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, explained that it is a serious misconception that it is safe to look at the sun during a partial eclipse.
As he noted, even during an eclipse, the sun remains bright enough to damage the eye’s delicate tissues.
The retina is the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that enables vision. Strong sunlight and ultraviolet radiation can damage its cells, causing solar retinopathy.
What makes this particularly dangerous is that damage can occur even after brief exposure and is not necessarily accompanied by immediate pain. This means a person may not realize there is a problem until several hours later.
Doctors recommend seeking immediate medical attention if, after looking directly at the sun, you experience symptoms such as:
– eye pain
– redness
– a gritty sensation or severe irritation
– blurred vision
– distorted vision
– new dark spots in your field of vision
– sudden changes in vision
Solar retinopathy can also cause reduced color perception, difficulty reading or a dark spot in the center of your vision.
In some cases, the symptoms gradually disappear, but there is also a risk of permanent vision loss.
