Staring at Sun has always been a discomfort, no one enjoys looking at the Sun directly, but still, our curious souls try to stare it. Now, the question arises why can’t we stare at it directly? Why the experience is so painful and displeasing?
Let’s see what happens to our eyes when we try to stare at the Sun.
When you first try staring at it, your eyes start to blink in reaction but you keep going to check how long you can tolerate. This causes sunburn on the surface of the eyes. Sun carry radiations; both useful and harmful. Where sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, it contains UV- radiations (ultraviolet) that trigger the chain of reactions in the body leading to free radical formation when exposed for longer periods. However, this damage can occur in only a few seconds in the eyes.
Cornea; the outer transparent layer of the eye, can crack from overexposure to UV rays. This doesn’t feel like a normal sunburn rather it will cause a condition called photo-keratitis also known as Arc eye or snow blindness; characterized by inflammation, painful eyes, blurriness, and, grittiness, etc. The corneal damage is however temporary and eases within or after 36-48 hours.
On the other hand, retinal tissue damage that causes free radical formation may lead to severe conditions, because retina can’t heal on its own. As the retina is a photosensitive tissue, UV-absorption can render its harmful effects. Visual disturbances like blind spots that don’t go away, blurriness, or half blindness are the most common symptoms that lead to the diagnosis of photic retinopathy (solar retinopathy).
Usually, retinal damages are permanent and unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to reverse this condition, but initially, corticosteroids can be given to treat macular edema as the damage is usually on the macula; the functional area of the retina that enables a 20/20 vision and color clarity.
Long term exposures may lead to macular degeneration, rods and cones damage, leading to permanent blindness. Blindness may occur due to UV-induced cataracts that remain undiagnosed or untreated for longer periods.
So, the worst of all adventures is to stare at the Sun directly just to enjoy. The experts strictly advise people not to stare Sun while eclipsing; whole or partial. But people still do it and then regret it later when the damage has already been done.
The best way to prevent your eyes from getting damaged from the harmful radiation is to use protection. From simple sunglasses to specialized eyewear protection, everything is now available easily.
If you still want to observe Sun and the nature of eclipses, you will need a solar filter. Binoculars are not a wise decision, as they only provide nearer vision and have no filters to protect you from the harm of radiation and thermal damage. You can install solar filters in binoculars and telescope and can satisfy your curiosity.
Prevention is the first step, always wear sunglasses while going out in the Sun. Avoid long term exposures and extreme environmental transitions; from sunlight into a completely dark room. This can also trigger visual disturbances as the eyes were working according to the light conditions, the pupil will immediately dilate to make more room for light to enter (glaring effect).
Take the necessary precautions, put your glasses on and enjoy!
Until Next Time,
Team Doctor ASKY!