Symptoms and damage from photic retinopathy: permanent eye damage due to a total eclipse

It’s not uncommon for advertisements for viewing the April 8 astronomical phenomenon to include messages such as “do not view the solar eclipse without protection.” Optometrists and eye health experts have warned of the risks of looking directly at the sun during a total eclipse. The main recommendation is to use certified glasses, special telescopes or to observe it indirectly with sheets of paper or trees. Objects with safety filters protect the visual system from ultraviolet rays, which can damage the macula, the center of the retina, and permanently damage people’s vision. The condition is called solar maculopathy, an irreversible damage to the macula of the retina that occurs after exposure to ultraviolet rays. With no cure or treatment, solar retinopathy causes distortions in the center of vision.

“A total eclipse could cause phototoxicity in the macula, which is the center of the retina. What that produces is damage to the photoreceptor layer of the macula and can cause visual lesions. If the eclipse is total and is not seen with protection, it can cause phototoxic damage to the macula,” explains Dr. Manuel Ramirez, an ophthalmologist specializing in cornea and refractive surgery.

This Monday, April 8, a total eclipse darkened North America. The astronomical phenomenon was visible in its totality in San Antonio, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth and Austin, in Texas, where the sky began to darken at 12:42 local time. Thousands of people across the continent saw the moon cover the entire solar body. In the middle of the day, the flocks of birds returned to their nests and the sky was covered in total darkness. The phenomenon was last seen in 1991 and will be repeated in almost three decades: on March 30, 2052.

“The main damage are affectations in the photoreceptors of the macula, they can be slight or more severe. The lesions are called solar retinopathies. They are damages directly on the macula with an important photosensitivity that generates distortion”, explains Dr. María Concepción Rodríguez Salgado, optometrist graduated from the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City. “When we observe an eclipse, UV rays are concentrated in a punctual way, which could damage the photoreceptors,” adds the doctor.

What are the symptoms of maculopathy or solar retinopathy?

The main risk of observing an eclipse without adequate protection is solar maculopathy, damage to the macula due to exposure to the sun’s rays. Dr. Manuel Ramirez clarifies that it is not a permanent blindness: “A person does not become completely blind from seeing an eclipse. Absolute blindness, which means seeing black or not seeing anything, does not produce it, but there is a risk that some sectors of vision will be damaged.”

Solar retinopathy causes sectors of vision to not function properly. This can produce dark sections of vision or distortions for which there is no treatment. The condition causes vision problems due to lesions in the macula. “When the photoreceptors of the macula are damaged, which is the thinnest area and the center of the retina, a macular hole is produced that permanently damages the area of maximum vision, for which there is no treatment,” warns Dr. Rodriguez Salgado.

Regarding the symptoms of maculopathy, Dr. Manuel Ramírez defines them as “a portion of the vision that is not perfect, normally it is the center, right where the macula is located.”

What to do if a person’s vision is damaged?

“In case of presenting any symptoms that alter vision, it’s worth going to a specialist to verify that no damage has been caused,” explains Dr. María Concepción Rodríguez. On the other hand, Dr. Manuel Ramirez has said that the panic to see a total eclipse occurs due to lack of knowledge on visual health issues: “If one does not look directly at the sun, there will be no lesions in the macula. Panic and fear have been generated by the total eclipse, but this is due to lack of knowledge. It is a rare condition; there are other more common macular diseases that come with age. I have never seen a macula problem caused by an eclipse, however, it is necessary to use the appropriate filters to protect oneself.”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition